Former Minister Devineni Rajasekhar said that “real” Congress leaders were still with the party and that there was enough young blood to fill vacancies created by those going out.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Rajasekhar, known to all as Nehru, said leaders such as Ganta Srinivasa Rao, T.G. Venkatesh, and Erasu Pratap Reddy originally belonged to the “Chandrababu TDP.” They returned to it after making use of the Congress. Such leaders had no political values, he said.
Mr. Rajasekhar said members of Pinnamaneni, Chanumolu, and Buragadda families had been with the Congress since inception and there were enough youngsters to fill vacancies.
Mr. Rajasekhar said Congress leaders who criticised the high command were actually planning their exit. Party president Sonia Gandhi could not be blamed for bifurcation. It was the Union Ministers and MPs who were to be blamed. Had they strongly objected to it before being discussed in the CWC, there would have been no bifurcation, he said.
Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who gave consent letter to the Centre, and YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy were responsible for bifurcation, he charged.
Capital issueMr. Rajasekhar said he had written to the high command seeking that the capital for the new State be located between Vijayawada and Guntur. He said the Congress was committed to development of the new State. BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu was merely trying to hijack the credit, he added.
