Come back to Congress to save democracy: Uttam
HYDERABAD: TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy has appealed to professionals to join the Congress to save democracy which is “under a serious threat under the BJP and TRS regimes”.
Speaking at a luncheon meeting of the Telangana chapter of All India Professional Congress here on Sunday, Reddy pointed out that the first cabinet of Independent India had several professionals including prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and law minister BR Ambedkar.
Professionals had been associated with the Congress for several decades, he claimed. However, for some reasons, they drifted away from the party and became the admirers of BJP and Modi in 2014 elections for inexplicable reasons. “Now the professionals have realised and understood the true colours of Modi and his government, and started returning to the Congress fold,’’ he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a conscious effort to bring professionals back into the Congress by launching the AIPC. “Professionals must come into politics to decide what is best for the country,’’ he said, adding that there was no organisation in the country which took up issues concerning professionals. With the launch of AIPC, he said, professionals would now be able to highlight issues concerning their fraternity.
The TPCC chief said the Telangana legislative Assembly was being misused for the propaganda of government schemes and it was no longer a place to discuss public issues. “KCR reduced it to an instrument of propaganda and the opposition is not being given opportunity to express its views,’’ he said.
Describing himself an accidental politician, Uttam Kumar Reddy recalled his journey after graduating from the National Defence Academy to joining the Indian Air Force, flying fighter jets, handling combat planes, a high-profile job in Rashtrapati Bhavan to electoral politics. He said professionals must enter the mainstream of public life not only to express their views but also to save democracy and the country.