Hyderabad, August 31: The stage is set for Telugu Mahila president R.K. Roja to switch loyalties to the Congress. After calling on Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at his camp office on Sunday she did not rule out reports about her quitting the TDP.
She said she was yet to take a decision on joining the Congress, but indicated it was only a matter of time when she said: “I have no objection to work under a leader (Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy) who cares about his followers and will not leave them when they are in distress.”
Expresses surprise
Former TTD Chairman B. Karunakara Reddy accompanied Ms. Roja during the 20-minute meeting which came in less than a fortnight after she stoutly denied the Chief Minister’s remark that she had expressed willingness to join the Congress. Ms. Roja had been keeping herself away from the party affairs for some time now and her brothers were said to have convinced her to join the Congress.
Known for her acerbic remarks against senior Congress leaders, including Dr. Reddy himself, Ms. Roja wondered “how the Chief Minister set aside the past and received her politely.”
She claimed that she had met the Chief Minister to compliment him for bringing the NTPC-BHEL joint venture to Chittoor district. She said the way Dr. Reddy was responding to issues, especially those concerning women, it had increased her admiration for him.
Asked whether her entry would strengthen the Congress, she said the party was already in power and “I don’t feel it will get any immediate benefit with my entry.” She dismissed reports that she had decided to quit the TDP as she was not given a prominent post claiming that she would have mounted pressure on the leadership if that was the case.
–Agencies