Aggrieved with the State Congress leadership for its failure to avert a drubbing in the Assembly by-election, Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy sent his letter of resignation to AICC president Sonia Gandhi owning moral responsibility for the party's debacle.
At the same time, he wanted all the members of the Cabinet to resign so that the high command could go in for a thorough overhaul of the Council of Ministers and pave way for strengthening the Congress from the grassroots level.
In his letter, Dr. Reddy sought urgent intervention of the Congress high command in the State party affairs to rectify the lapses before it was too late. He said the party would face an acid test in the impending by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies and the Nellore Lok Sabha seat if immediate remedial measures were not taken to endear itself to the people. “The party is likely to see a rebellion of sorts if the results of these seats go against it,” he said.
Making no secret of his unhappiness over Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy's decision to divest him of some of his portfolios, Dr. Reddy said the party's performance has been dismal in successive elections, including by-polls in Telangana and in Kadapa. “The party cadre is worried but the State leadership is making no effort to convince them to remain in the party,” he added.
He accused the party's State leadership of not acting in time whenever there was a crisis. This was evident from the inaction when Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy resigned from the party and the subsequent by-election in Kadapa where the Congress faced a debacle. “We begin searching for alternatives only after the election is notified. This is a sorry state of affairs,” he remarked.
Taking a dig at the Chief Minister for comparing the by-election results with a cricket match, he said: “Is this the way we take note of a serious development that affects the party in the long run? The party ought to act fast on these developments.”
