Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday declined the invitation of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh’s to be present in Delhi for discussions on selection of party candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Mr. Kiran Reddy, who has been keeping a distance from the high command after the July 30 decision to divide the State, informed Mr. Singh that he was could not attend the meeting as the debate on the crucial Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill was in progress in the Assembly.
He had skipped the AICC meeting held in New Delhi on January 17 on similar grounds. That the Chief Minister was in no mood to heed the high command’s plea was clear when he made light of the summons.
Asked by reporters in the Assembly after the House was adjourned whether he was going to Delhi, Mr. Reddy said: “Abhi Delhi bahut door hai. (Delhi is far away).” The central leadership had asked the Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president Botcha Satyanarayana to attend a meeting with Mr. Singh to discuss the probable candidates. Mr. Satyanarayana left for New Delhi in the afternoon.
The Congress party can win three seats on its own strength and has to bank on support of the friendly parties to wrest the fourth seat. This is a tall order considering the revolt brewing in the Seemandhra camp.
