All-India Congress Committee member Mallu Ramesh on Saturday demanded immediate removal of ‘coverts’ like Manda Jagannath, G. Vivekananda and S. Rajaiah from the party.
“This is essential to prevent any possible damage to the party’s prospects in the 2014 elections,” Mr. Ramesh told a press conference here.
The Congress leader was in the city as part of Dalit Chaitanya Yatra. He said Manda Jagannath, Vivekananda and Rajaiah, MPs from Nagarkurnool, Peddapalli and Warangal, respectively, had been tarnishing the Congress image by their anti-party activities and deserved to be shown the door.
Lauds Kiran
He said he would represent his case to senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee of the AICC A.K. Antony.
Mr. Ramesh said Andhra Pradesh under the stewardship of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was in the forefront in the implementation of the SC, ST Sub-Plan. “But this should not be confined to this State but should be replicated at the national level,” he said, adding that the Centre was working on a plan to implement the same in Karnataka and Rajasthan also.
The Congress leader dismissed the ‘padayatras’ by TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress leader Sharmila. “Unable to digest the growing popularity of the Congress Government, these leaders had taken to padayatras which will not serve any purpose,” he said.
‘Raw deal for Dalits’
He said Dalits were meted out a raw deal under the leadership of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. “YSR had promised to make every Dalit a ‘crorepathi’ but he never fulfilled his promise. All the funds meant to be spent under SC, ST Sub-Plan were diverted either to Jalayagnam or industries owned by his son Jagan,” he said.
On the other hand, he said, Kiran Kumar Reddy had proved to be a fair ruler by prevention diversion of the Sub-Plan funds. Referring to other welfare schemes like Amma Hastham and Indiramma Padhakam, he said they should be implemented at the village level.
City Congress working president Meesala Rajeswara Rao, incharge president Adapa Nagendra, district president Naraharisetty Narasimha Rao and others were present.
