Speculation was rife on Friday that Congress MLA of Nakrekal Chirumarthi Lingaiah was likely to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Sunday.
Although there was no confirmation about the development either from Mr. Lingaiah or the TRS, Munugode MLA of Congress Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy termed it as a big betrayal on the part of his ‘follower’ if he went ahead with the reported decision.
Mr. Reddy’s elder brother and former minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy refused to react and asked reporters when they met him at Miryalguda to furnish proof that Mr. Lingaiah was about to desert Congress.
Mr. Rajagopal Reddy, while speaking to reporters at Choutuppal, felt that Mr. Lingaiah should not leave the party, and wanted him to “withdraw his decision”.
He recalled that it was he and his brother who fought with the party high command to secure Nakrekal seat for Lingaiah. In the party’s first list of candidates for recent Assembly elections, Nakrekal seat was allotted to Telangana Inti Party as part of alliance and later reallotted to the Congress.
Reddy brothers and Mr. Lingaiah hail from the same Brahmana Vellemla village near Narketpally on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway.
Our Special Correspondent adds from Hyderabad: Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, whose follower is Chirumarti Lingaiah, said the TRS was bringing pressure on Mr. Lingaiah to desert the party since a month. “We have been trying to persuade him not to leave the party but he seems to have succumbed to pressures,” he said.
Mr. Reddy said Mr. Lingaiah’s decision to defect will not affect the Congress as the cadre would be still with the party and was ready to take the fight on. On the rumours that Mr. Lingaiah has left with his blessings, he said this was a mind game being played by the TRS. “My brother Venkata Reddy will contest from Nalgonda Parliament constituency and will win,” he asserted.
