HYDERABAD: A day after senior Congress leaders including Nalgonda MP Gutha Sukhender Reddy announced their decision to quit the party, TPCC leaders swung into damage control mode and said the exit of Sukhender Reddy will not have any affect on the party.
On a day of fast paced developments, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy met party bosses in Delhi including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and apprised him of the party affairs in the state, more particularly about defections.
Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, opposition leader K Jana Reddy said he would resign to his post and work as a party activist to bring the party back to power.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Jana Reddy said the TRS is resorting to cheap politics by encouraging defections. ‘’Defections are being done in the name of development and this is against democracy,’’ he said.
On his close aide and Miryalguda MLA N Bhaskar Rao too leaving the party, Jana Reddy said Bhaskar Rao is not his close aide and if he is, he should not have left the party.
Meanwhile, Nalgonda MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy demanded that Gutha Sukhender Reddy should resign, if he wants to join TRS.
“I will contest against Gutha Sukhender Reddy for the MP byelection, if he resigns, and I will quit politics forever, if I get defeated,’’ Venkat Reddy challenged.
On the other hand, senior leader V Hanumantha Rao asked as to what is the development that attracted the Congress leaders to join the TRS. ‘’Is the increase in excise revenue a symbol of development in the state?’’ he questioned.
Meanwhile, Uttam Kumar Reddy met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and informed him about the defections of the party leaders into the ruling party. Uttam Kumar Reddy is said to have told Rahul Gandhi the reasons why the leaders defected to TRS and said the exit of the party leaders does not matter much for the party.
Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have told the TPCC chief not to get discouraged by defections and work for strenghtening the party.
Later, Uttam Kumar Reddy met AICC incharge Digvijaya Singh and apprised him about the situation. Digvijaya Singh called up Jana Reddy and asked him not to take any hasty decision.
Digvijaya Singh and other leaders will arrive in Hyderabad on Wednesday and will hold the TPCC coordination committee meeting to take stock of the situation.