HYDERABAD: The Congress on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BRS over its ambiguous stand on the vice-presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday.
The BRS, which claims to maintain equal distance from both the NDA and INDIA blocs, is now under fire from the ruling Congress in the state.
The Congress leaders argue that if the BRS abstains from voting, it would amount to indirectly helping the BJP.
The Congress leaders, including ministers, MPs and MLAs, are accusing the BRS of colluding with the saffron party. They question why the BRS cannot take a clear stand like the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh, which openly declared its support to NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan.
Telangana Congress leaders are also demanding to know why the BRS is unwilling to back the INDIA bloc candidate, B Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge from Telangana. They say the BRS must explain why it is abandoning Telangana’s pride by refusing to support him.
Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said, “Sudershan Reddy is a former judge of the Supreme Court and has no political affiliations. He is contesting this election to safeguard the Constitution and democracy.”
He added that Sudarshan Reddy had sought support from leaders across the political spectrum.
“The BRS, which once claimed to embody Telangana sentiment, has now shown that it has no regard for it. By thinking of abstaining, it has proved that it no longer represents the people of Telangana,” he added.
Ponnam’s plea
Meanwhile, referring to BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s statement that the pink party would vote in favour of the candidate which ever bloc provides urea to Telangana farmers, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday said that not even half the required urea was supplied to the state, and wondered whom would BRS vote in the vice-presidential election.
He, however, requested the BRS to support Justice Sudershan Reddy.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Prabhakar demanded that the Centre to supply required quantity of urea to the state at the earliest. “If you want to take political revenge, please take it against Telangana political leaders, and not against the farmers,” he told the BJP-led Union government.