HYDERABAD: Contrary to the perception that he would be pulled up for the Congress candidate’s defeat in the recent Huzurnagar Assembly bypoll and asked to relinquish his post, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy reportedly received support from his party colleagues after he openly accepted the entire responsibility for the humiliating defeat.
During the party’s core committee and executive committee meetings held at Gandhi Bhavan here on Tuesday, Uttam said: “I take the moral responsibility for the Huzurnagar defeat,” following which the leaders felt that Uttam did his best to win the poll, but since the ruling TRS leaders misused the official machinery and money power, he could do much to ensure the Congress candidate’s victory.
Interestingly, even his rivals in the party did not question him.
On the other hand, as expected, Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy faced the music from the veteran leader and former Rajya Sabha member V Hanumanth Rao, who accused the former of trying to project himself as a chief ministerial candidate and taking unilateral decisions.
“Some leaders are busy promoting themselves through social media and ignoring party activities. They are bringing a few of their supporters and shooting videos and uploading them on social media for self-publicity. Let us first bring the party to power and then think about the chief minister’s post,” he said.
“A popular leader like former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy never projected himself as a chief minister before polls and followed the instructions of party high command. But today there have a few people who are in a hurry to become the chief minister,” he said.
Revanth stays cool
When AICC secretary and Telangana in-charge RC Khuntia tried to intervene, Hanumanth Rao reportedly confronted him, asking why he failed to act when Revanth Reddy demanded action against Uttam when he announced his wife Padmavathi as the party’s candidate in the Huzurnagar bypoll. Revanth Reddy reportedly kept calm throughout the discussion and never tried to confront Hanumanth Rao.
The core committee and the extended executive committee meetings, attended by AICC secretaries Srinivasa Krishnan, Mohammad Saleem Ahmed, NSC Bosaraju, CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former minister K Jana Reddy, former PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah, former MLC Mohammad Ali Shabbir and working president Ponnam Prabhakar, chalked out plans for the upcoming municipal polls and decided to appoint in-charges for constituencies where there is no party representatives. Khuntia stated that the responsibility of selecting candidates too would be entrusted with the in-charges.
Meanwhile, Uttam stated that the party would intensify agitation in support of the striking RTC workers. “Congress party would stand strongly behind the RTC workers and fight for their rights till the government accepts their genuine demands,” he stated.
The TPCC chief called upon the party workers to gear up for the AICC awareness and agitation programmes against mismanagement of the country’s economy by the BJP government. He stated that as part of the programme, the party workers will stage dharna in front of district collectorates across the State on November 5 and take part in a padayatra from Gandhi Bhavan to Hyderabad Collectorate on November 15.
The party had also decided to celebrate the 35th death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in all the Assembly constituencies on October 31.