T March: Cong MLCs Seek Action Against MPs

Three Congress MLCs from the Telangana region, on Thursday, demanded that the Congress High Command take action against the MPs who had staged a dharna before the camp office of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy during the Telangana March on September 30.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Assembly's media point, MLCs Farooq Hussain, Rajeshwar Rao and P Padamavathi described the dharna as a political stunt. They said that these MPs could have easily gotten an appointment with the Chief Minister to present their point of view.

"However, the MPs deliberately created a scene to catch the media's attention, and got arrested," they said.

Alleging that the MPs were directly damaging the party's image in the region, the Congress MLCs said that instead of holding a protest before the CM's office, they must lobby in Delhi to achieve statehood for the Telangana region.

They said that Kiran Kumar Reddy was picked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the Chief Minister's post, and that therefore, targeting him was nothing but challenging the authority of Sonia Gandhi.

"The MPs should focus on solving the Telangana issue rather than having a confrontation with the Chief Minister," they said.

They asserted that the final decision on Telangana would be taken by Sonia Gandhi and not by the Chief Minister.

Padmavathi alleged that the MPs had a personal grudge against the CM, and that they were trying to settle scores by linking him with the Telangana issue.

Stating that their behaviour was damaging the party's reputation among the masses, she said that the Congress would suffer losses during the 2014 elections if the MPs do not mend their ways.

Farooq Hussain also said that as many as 26 MLCs signed a letter sent to the Centre seeking statehood for the Telangana region. (INN)