The Congress has landed itself in further trouble after the expulsion of six MPs as their close followers, including MLAs, decided to quit the party in protest.
Party MLA from Rajahmundry Urban constituency Routhu Suryaprakash Rao, a close aide of local MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar, faxed his letter to the PCC president resigning from the party.
Several district level Congress leaders in Krishna district to which Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal belongs also resigned. A sense of outrage was visible among the State Ministers and Congress leaders over the disciplinary action. Seemandhra Ministers and MLAs rushed to the Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy’s camp office on Tuesday night to take stock of the situation.
Sources said the Ministers and elected representatives reportedly hinted that the Chief Minister may resign on Thursday when the bifurcation Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament. Most leaders expressed anger at the high command’s unilateral decision that appeared to favour the Telangana region.
Minister for School Education S. Sailajanath said the ordinary party worker would not appreciate such ‘meaningless’ action while Minister for Social Welfare Pithani Satyanarayana pointed out that today’s developments have almost alienated it from the people of Seemandhra.
Law Minister Erasu Pratap Reddy said he was ashamed to be in the Congress even as Minister for Infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao predicted doom for the Congress in the next election.
‘Differential treatment’A PCC functionary questioned the differential treatment meted out by the AICC leadership. “When two Cong-ress MPs from Telangana defected to TRS, no action was initiated against them. But, today the high command has cracked down on Seemandhra MPs, who were fighting for the rights of the people of their region,” he said.
State Congress leaders fear another round of defections to other parties as several disgruntled party leaders, who are worried about the prosp-ects of Congress could switch loyalties. However, the PCC president said the expulsion has nothing to do with bifurcation Bill. He admitted that Seemandhra Congress leaders were indeed facing piquant situation in wake of Centre’s decision to go ahead with division of the State.
