Youth Congress activists from Telangana on Sunday created a ruckus at the membership drive launched by the Andhra Pradesh Youth Congress (APYC) and threw chairs demanding its postponement until the statehood issue was resolved.
In the presence of the AICC secretary in charge of Youth Congress affairs, Meenakshi Natarajan, and YC national president Rajiv Satav, Youth Congress activists from Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal resisted the membership drive. They reasoned that there was a general strike in the region and the political situation was volatile, with Congress leaders unable to even enter the villages.
In such a scenario, they expressed the fear that the YC leaders from Telangana would lag behind their Seemandhra counterparts, who had the advantage of enrolling more members.
The YC workers not only obstructed the meeting but also raised slogans against the leadership. As tempers ran high, some workers reportedly threw chairs. YC leaders failed to pacify the agitated cadres.
Ms. Natarajan, who is also a Lok Sabha member, and the YC national chief assured the irate party workers that their grievances would be brought to the notice of the national leadership.
Sources said some YC leaders reportedly brought some outsiders to the meeting to disrupt the drive. They were apparently afraid that their bid to enrol the cadres would not match the efforts of their counterparts from other regions. Later in the evening, the State YC president, T.J.R.Sudhakar, launched the membership drive in the presence of Ms. Natarajan and Mr. Satav.
