Telangana Congress MLAs raise pitch against CM

HYDERABAD: The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) office has become the latest venue for trading of charges between the party Telangana legislators aligned for and against chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Departing from the party conventions, perhaps for the first time, a group of Telangana MLAs openly criticised the chief minister’s handling of the Telangana movement and the attitude of some T legislators backing him at the CLP office.

The section of the MLAs behind Kiran Kumar Reddy, however, have put up a spirited defence.

Rallying behind the chief minister, a group of MLAs on Tuesday expressed displeasure over TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s remarks that Telangana Congress leaders were polishing the shoes of Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Ch Mutyam Reddy, K Laxmareddy, P Kishta Reddy, M Kavita, A Mohan, Narsireddy and B Rajireddy urged the TJAC leadership to exempt educational institutions from the Samme keeping the future of students in view.

Citing the untold suffering the people of the region were going through for the past one month due to the agitation, they appealed to the TJAC leadership to suspend the Sakala Janula Samme for at least a month.

They also met the chief minister shortly before the press meet and conveyed their demands.

On Wednesday, the other group of MLAs aligned against the chief minister declared the TRS chief’s remarks about boot polishing did not apply to them.

They took strong objection to police registering cases against TRS and TNGO leaders.

Former ministers Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao, M Rajaiah, Ch Lingaiah and S Satyanarayana, speaking to reporters at the CLP office, were critical of the attitude of the MLAs demanding suspension of the T-stir.

The Telangana movement had reached a decisive stage and T activists should continue the strike without considering demands for exemptions and relaxations, they said.

Kiran Kumar Reddy had announced zero tolerance policy on the T agitation, now it’s the turn of the people of Telangana to show their stand on his government, Venkata Reddy said.

Jupally charged the chief minister of behaving in an undemocratic manner on the T issue.

This was followed by another press meet where Hyderabad city Congress MLAs Sudheer Reddy, Bhikshapati Yadav and B Rajireddy made a fresh appeal to the TJAC leadership to exempt educational institutions and emergency services from the strike in the larger interests of public.