Hyderabad, February 10: The former minister, Ms Konda Surekha, and her MLC husband, Mr Konda Murali, unleashed another tirade against the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday, for going back on her promise of a separate Telangana state. Political observers felt they were laying the groundwork for a shift to the TRS.
The Konda couple, known adherents of former MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, dropped plenty of hints on the subject. These included leaking information to a few channels in Warangal.
The channels promptly carried news ‘scrollings,’ stating that the Konda couple had approached the PCC chief, Mr D. Srinivas. According to the channels, they told him that they were willing to remain in the Congress as loyalists, provided the Central leadership dropped their names from the list of those against whom it is going to take disciplinary action.
The assertion of the PCC president on Tuesday, who made a statement that all those MLAs who went to Mr Jagan’s camp will return to the Congress and will not cross the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ wherever the party draws the line, was significant. This statement, coupled with the morning ‘scrollings’, gave rise to suspicion that the Konda couple are ditching Mr Jagan to return to the CM’s camp.
According to sources, after seeing the news ‘scrollings’ some senior leaders associated with Mr Jagan confirmed that the couple will address a media conference criticising Mrs Gandhi.
However, a senior leader had admitted to this newspaper that the couple’s actions over the past few weeks had left them clueless. Their absence at Mr Jagan’s ‘Harita Yatra’ fuelled speculation.
By evening the couple had addressed the media in Warangal and released a nine-page open letter to the Congress president accusing her of going back on Telangana promise.
–Agencies