Groupism Hits T-Congress, It's Jana vs Ponnala

Groupism is back in the Telangana Congress. While one group is being led by TPCC President Ponnala Lakshmaiah, another is being helmed by CLP leader K Jana Reddy.

Addressing a press conference at the CLP office on Wednesday, Jana Reddy denied having any rifts with Ponnala. However, he tried to give an impression that the TPCC and the CLP were separate entities. This is being viewed as an endorsement of groupism within the Telangana Congress.

Since Ponnala has lost the recent elections, technically he is not a member of the CLP. The same views were conveyed by former minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy when he objected to the CLP meeting being chaired by Ponnala. Komatireddy contended that a person who himself lost the election had no right to lead a meeting of elected MLAs.

Jana Reddy said that the TPCC and the CLP were working in active coordination. However, he did not specify as to why both the entities were holding separate meetings. While the TPCC is holding a meeting on July 17, the CLP has convened the meeting of all candidates who contested on Congress tickets in the recent Assembly elections on August 4. However, Jana Reddy said that he had invited Ponnala as the chief guest for the proposed meeting, which is what Komatireddy is objecting to.

The CLP leader also slammed the TRS government for lacking clarity on the fee reimbursement issue. (INN)