HYDERABAD: Signalling his party’s intent to take the fight to the ruling Congress, BRS working president KT Rama Rao challenged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to make the 10 MLAs, who defected to the Congress from BRS, resign and face byelections.
On Saturday, Rama Rao addressed a public meeting in Gadwal. The local MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy had won on a BRS ticket but shifted loyalties to the Congress, though he continues to claim that he remains a part of the pink party.
“If Revanth Reddy has the guts, let him get the MLAs who defected to resign and face byelections,” Rama Rao thundered. He said that the people’s aspirations and trust had been trampled upon by these MLAs, who changed parties only for personal motives and enrichment.
He stated, “The condition of these defectors is pitiable. They cannot even say which party they belong to. They shifted sides only to increase their assets. Even the Supreme Court is taking this issue seriously. Whatever the Congress tries, byelections in the constituencies of the 10 defectors are inevitable.”
Rama Rao also slammed the Gadwal MLA. He questioned, “For whose development did Krishna Mohan Reddy join the Congress? If it were for the poor, then where is the Congress promise of `2,500 monthly assistance for every girl? Where is the waiver of `2 lakh farm loans? Where are the scooters promised to young women? Where is the `20 lakh Dalit Bandhu support? And what happened to the promise of 42% reservations for BCs?”
Referring to Krishna Mohan Reddy’s past statements, Rama Rao said, “He once declared that he would never join the Congress, and that if forced, he would rather lay his head on the railway tracks. So why did he not attend this meeting? Claiming to remain with the BRS while being under Revanth Reddy’s shadow is nothing but deceiving the people.”