Hyderabad, September 22: In a development that appears to widen the rift between the Telangana MPs and ministers further, the parliamentarians hit back at the ministers for questioning them at yesterday’s cabinet meeting. The ministers reportedly wanted to know why the MPs — Manda Jagannadham, Gutha Sukhender Reddy, Madhu Yashki Goud, G Vivek and Sarve Satyanarayana — were holding out a brief for the TRS.
The MPs targeted Danam Nagender, M Mukesh Goud and Damodar Rajanarsimha for lashing out at them. They went into a huddle at the residence of Vivek this evening and came out with harsh words against the ministers, attributing motives to them for their attack.
Madhu Yashki said he knew at whose instance they were targeting them, implying YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He said neither he nor his colleagues had violated party directions in the past and claimed that they were foot soldiers of Sonia Gandhi.
MP Sukhender Reddy said he and his colleagues had no objection to accepting their leadership if they proved their commitment for Telangana and led the struggle from the front. He said it was not proper to say that they were praising TRS, adding even before TRS acted on several issues, they had taken them up.
Vivek wanted to know how asking for a Telangana state, which had been promised by Union home minister P Chidambaram, was violative of party high command’s direction.
Jagannadham asked where the ministers were when the Seema-Andhra leaders had described Telangana people as anti-national elements. He challenged the ministers to show one instance where they (all 11 Telangana Congress MPs) had defied the orders of high command.
In fact, it was they (the three ministers) who had defied the party leadership a year ago. One minister (Nagender) strongly opposed K Rosaiah as the chief minister and had not attended some of the review meetings.
He also failed to keep Rosaiah’s photo in the chambers despite knowing that the latter was nominated by the high command.
Another minister (Mukesh Goud) had demanded Hyderabad state even after the Congress core committee had decided to initiate the process for formation of Telangana state.
“Should we not treat their behaviour as against the party high command’s orders. It is our (Telangana MPs and leaders) duty to strengthen the party’s stand on Telangana issue by taking the message to the people that separate state will be formed only through the Congress party,” he argued.
But the ministers stuck to their stand on Tuesday also. “Though we have no personal differences with the MPs, it is not proper for them to praise KCR. Praising another party or leader will send out a message that the Congress is incapable of giving a separate Telangana state. As Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is committed on the (Telangana) issue, the Srikrishna Committee was constituted by the Centre to resolve it. Hence there is no need to praise others when Sonia Gandhi is in favour of Telangana,” Nagender said.
-Agencies