TRS ups the ante to merge CLP

Congress trying hard to stall the move till LS elections

April 25, 2019 12:04 am | Updated 12:04 am IST - Hyderabad

R.C. Khuntia.

R.C. Khuntia.

With the 11th MLA - Gandra Venkataramana Reddy shifting loyalties to the ruling party, the Telangana Congress is putting all efforts to stop two more MLAs joining the TRS at least till the Lok Sabha elections are completed so that the merger of CLP can be delayed.

The party is hopeful of bagging at least two or three Lok Sabha seats and feels that can stop the tide for sometime before it can regroup.

“Political developments will change pretty fast if the party is able to win a couple of seats, and in case the BJP doesn’t get majority on its own,” a senior leader said.

“We want to stop the flow at least till the Lok Sabha results are announced,” a leader said adding that the Congress high command will have some breathing space after the hectic election campaign to concentrate on Telangana.

On other hand, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is hell bent on completing the process of merging the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) into the TRS Legislature Party (TRSLP). It also fears that if the Congress is able to revive with a few Lok Sabha seats, then some of those who have expressed their wish to join now may backtrack.

“We know the TRS is in a hurry to merge the CLP unconstitutionally into the TRSLP with the help of the Speaker. We will try to stretch it till the Lok Sabha results,” admitted a senior leader. The same views were echoed by the AICC in-charge for Telangana, R.C. Khuntia.

As of now 11 MLAs have decided to defect and released carefully worded statements, including resigning as legislators, if there is a need.

The group needs two more MLAs so that they can claim to be the breakaway group with 2/3rds majority and urge the Speaker to merge the CLP into TRSLP. As per anti-defection law, MLAs can’t be disqualified if the breakaway group is of 2/3rds of the elected MLAs from a particular party.

The names of Bhadrachalam MLA, Podem Veeraiah and Sangareddy MLA, T. Jagga Reddy are doing rounds to change the party. The name of Tandur MLA P. Rohith Reddy also cropped up but sources close to him ruled out any such step.

“There is tremendous pressure on him but Rohith will not budge despite payments being stopped for the work he did on some projects,” a leader close to him told The Hindu .

Mr. Jagga Reddy and Mr. Veeraiah too denied any such move though the former had been giving strange statements creating doubts among the Congress cadre.

CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka says any move to merge the party will be illegal as Congress is a national party and merger will be valid only when the national president decides on it. But the Congress could do little even in the last Assembly when some of its members joined the TRS without resigning. The then Speaker did not take any action on them despite repeated pleas from the party.

The TRS however has gained some experience in the merger politics. In the last Assembly, the TDPLP was merged into TRSLP after 12 of the 15 TDP MLAs gave a letter with their consent to merge the TDPLP, and it was immediately accepted by the Speaker. Similar operation was done in the Legislative Council when four MLCs of Congress gave a letter to the Chairman and it was accepted within minutes.

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