Former Pradesh Congress Committee President D. Srinivas on Thursday announced that he had officially quit a party he had loyally served for 56 years and was joining the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
His resignation letter he said, was sent to the AICC President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday evening and would be joining the TRS very soon.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, he termed it a sad day, one on which he took the hardest decision in his life - of quitting the Congress and joining the TRS. “But I had to take it because I want to contribute to the upliftment of the backward classes and the weaker sections – something that would not be possible for me if I continue with the Congress,” he said.
He went down the memory lane, recalling that he had first stepped into Gandhi Bhavan here in 1969. “I have worked with the late Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and with Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. I will always remain indebted to them but my joining the TRS was necessitated by the circumstances. I am not joining the TRS with my eyes set on power," he said.
He said he was clear that he only wished to do his bit to help the weaker sections. "Anybody could say anything otherwise, but I am not going to counter their statements. I leave it to their wisdom,” he added.
Mr. Srinivas said that he was grateful to the Congress for all the recognition it accorded him, adding with sarcasm, “I bore the humiliation meted out to me in silence too. Did I ever go public with it ? Everbody knows my contribution to achieving Telangana statehood. I fought for it as much as others, but the ultimate credit for the achievement goes to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.”
“Once statehood was achieved, people, the educated youth and students thought their dreams would be fulfilled one by one. The blueprint for the future was already etched in their heart and mind. And it is only my desire to contribute to achieving the objective of a ‘Golden’ State (Bangaru Telangana). I took this decision, not because I was hankering for power. Yes, Mr. Chandrasekhara Rao is doing his best and things are happening,” he said, without mincing words in his praise for Mr. Rao.
Asked about AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh’s comments, hinting that he had quit only because he was not preferred to be given the recognition of a Member of Legislative Council but given to Akula Lalitha, he scoffed, “He is a bluffer. I had a lot of respect for him till now. I only felt he should have kept me in confidence, being a senior leader myself. I have nothing against Mrs. Lalitha. In fact, I was present when she took oath and I blessed her,” Mr. Srinivas observed.
