Seeking to enforce discipline in the party vertically divided over the Telangana issue, Andhra Pradesh Congress president D Srinivas today asked the party MPs and other leaders to exercise “utmost restraint” in their actions and while talking to the media.
“It is high time that we need to do some soul searching whether it is right on our part to bring in disrepute to the party, either through our actions or controversial statements before the press and media,” Mr. Srinivas said in a letter to the MPs.
“As members of a most democratic political party in the country, we have all the freedom to express our viewpoint at all levels - from the DCC, PCC to AICC and the High Command. Hence, we may need to exercise utmost restraint in such crucial moments to uphold our dignity and the honour of the Congress party thereby strengthening the leadership of Sonia Gandhiji,” he said.
The letter from Mr. Srinivas to the party MPs came in the wake of a war of words and a vertical divide in the Congress state unit between leaders of Telangana and non-Telangana regions.
The divide is such that the Congress leaders from Telangana are seeking a separate Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) for the region.
Expressing serious concerns over the ongoing war of words, Mr. Srinivas had earlier asked partymen to observe restraint.
“The criss-cross criticism and heated exchanges at the level of highest dignitaries like the Parliamentarians and other senior party leaders and their occasional expressions in the press and media tend to sow the seeds of region-wise hatred. They do cause a real damage to the social fabric of the State which may become difficult to patch up later,” the PCC president said in the letter.
The Sri Krishna committee, appointed by the Centre to look into the Telangana issue, and the UPA government would give serious consideration once the panel submits its report, he said.
“Congress alone can change the prevailing scenario in the State and can bring back normalcy by providing a solution to the utmost satisfaction of the people,” Mr. Srinivas added.
