Bickering in city Congress in Vijaywada, to the fore again

City Congress president Pyla Sominaidu has lodged a fresh complaint to APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana against PCC secretary Kolanukonda Sivaji.

The APCC, in a letter to Mr. Sivaji, has asked him to appear before its Screening and Enquiry Committee at Gandhi Bhavan to give his version on July 17.

Mr. Sivaji has been the butt of complaints from Mr. Sominaidu. The City Congress president has been finding fault with Mr. Sivaji for mostly disagreeing with Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal on the NH 9 flyover issue.

Mr. Sominaidu complained against Mr. Sivaji for the first time when the latter criticised Mr. Rajagopal for raising the issue of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant employees in Parliament.

Mr. Sivaji then questioned whether all problems of the people of Vijayawada Parliamentary Constituency were resolved.

Mr. Sominaidu immediately held a press conference to condemn the statement of fellow Congressman and then wrote a letter to the APCC. The APCC issued a show-cause notice to Mr. Sivaji, but expressed satisfaction with his explanation.

Unable to face the heat from his own partymen, Mr. Rajagopal was resorting to such tactics, say his detractors. They say this type of complaints were unheard of in the Congress, whihc was known for its intra-party democracy and tolerance.

Supporters of Mr. Sivaji say that Mr. Rajagopal was targeting the district Congress leaders who were not toeing his line.

Corridor issue

The recent complaint was reportedly made against Mr. Sivaji for saying that the Congress did not agree with the MP’s stand on the elevated corridor between the foot of Indrakeeladri and Durga Ghat to ease traffic congestion on NH 9.