VH's Medhomadanam Protest Opposed By Cong MLAs

The infighting among the state's Congress leaders intensified on Saturday, with some MLAs lodging a formal complaint against Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao.

The MLAs - Jogi Ramesh and Malladi Vishnu - complained to the Congress high command that Hanumantha Rao was promoting groupism within the party.

In a letter to union Health minister and in-charge of PCC affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, they lodged their protest against VHR's silent deeksha at Gandhi Bhavan. VHR was demanding a program called "Medhomadanam", to revamp the party and the government after its drubbing in the recent by-elections.

The MLAs demanded that VHR immediately recall his deeksha, as the Dharmana Committee appointed to make suggestions on the rejuvenation of the party and the government has already submitted its preliminary report to Pradesh Congress Committee chief Botsa Satyanarayana.

Jogi Ramesh said, "We would have hailed VHR if he had staged a deeksha to strengthen the party at this crucial juncture. If VHR has any issues, he should have brought it to the notice of the high command first," he said.

Malladi Vishnu said that the protest, which is being held against the party, would send a wrong message to the party's cadre.

The MLAs suspected a hidden agenda behind the proposed protest by VHR, and demanded that the high command initiate disciplinary action against him to protect the party's interests.

The MLAs recalled that a similar deeksha by VHR at Tirupathi, in protest against YSR Congress party president Jaganmohan Reddy, had badly damaged the party's image in the recent by-elections.

They also took serious objection over VHR describing chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy as an agent of Jaganmohan Reddy. (INN)