Hyderabad, May 18: It was deja vu for incharge of State Congress affairs, Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Tuesday. The senior leader, who was in town on a two-day visit to assess the party’s position post-Kadapa bypolls, was made to witness a replay of the Andhra-Telangana divide in the State Congress.
The bifurcation issue popped up unexpectedly during the meetings he had with party leaders at the Gandhi Bhavan, much to the disappointment of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s opponents several of whom couldn’t even broach the subject.
Outspoken detractors of Kiran Kumar Reddy from Chittoor district- MLA Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and Shajahan – reportedly managed to submit a memorandum to Azad against his “authoritarian” attitude.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s camp, however, said Azad told them that there was no proposal for a change of guard in the near future. Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, who is said to be miffed with Kiran Kumar Reddy for not taking him to Delhi for the meeting with the Planning Commission, was conspicuous by his absence.
The rest, however, used the occasion to inform Azad of their views on the Telangana issue. What came as a surprise was the Telangana leaders’ warning to the Union minister that if a separate State was not carved out, “the Congress, which is reeling under the Jagan Mohan Reddy impact, would meet with the same fate in Telangana too.” Before leaving for Delhi, Azad told reporters: “I have taken the opinions of leaders of the party… I will submit a report to the party leadership at the earliest.”
—Agencies