Sinha visit: Differences in Congress come to the fore

Hanumantha Rao criticised for meeting opposition Presidential candidate in the presence of KCR

Fissures in the Telangana Congress came to the fore yet again when the former MP V. Hanumantha Rao went to the Begumpet Airport to welcome the Opposition parties’ Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha despite the party deciding to stay away from his meeting.

While Mr. Rao’s act evoked a strong response from the supporters of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy, who said it was acting against the party’s interests. What was the need for Mr. Hanumantha Rao to go to the airport when he was not even a voter in the Presidential election, and also after the party took a decision to stay away from the event, which the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had made a personal affair, argued the party leaders.

However, Sangareddy MLA, T. Jayaprakash Reddy did not find anything wrong in Mr. Rao’s move stating that Mr. Sinha was supported by the Congress. “In fact, I also wanted to meet him as an MLA and sought an appointment, but could not get one due to paucity of time,” he said. He also argued that Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhatti Vikramarka should have taken the initiative in inviting the visiting dignitary to the CLP office.

Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy was also furious at Mr. Revanth Reddy for his reported strong remarks on Mr. Hanumantha Rao for defying the party decision and giving an opportunity for the Bharatiya Janata Party to criticise the Congress. “He said Mr. Revanth Reddy did not inform him or others in the party on the decision to stay away from Mr. Sinha’s visit,” he said. “When the party has taken a decision to support Mr. Sinha’s candidature, why should the local Congress leadership ignore him,” he asked.

Earlier, Mr. Revanth Reddy had announced that the party would stay away from Mr. Sinha’s visit as he was being hosted by the TRS. “Come what may, we will not be part of any political decision of the TRS,” he said reinforcing the party’s stand that it would strongly oppose the TRS on every platform. “If Mr. Sinha is meeting the TRS and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao first we don’t want to be part of that campaign,” he said.

Some party leaders criticised Mr. Hanumantha Rao for going to the airport asking in what capacity he had gone there when the party president and other MLAs stayed away. “His presence when the Chief Minister himself was there only shows he wants to create trouble for the party when it was fighting hard on the ground against the Chief Minister . If he was so interested, he could have met him at a hotel or some other place but not at a TRS party event. He is not even a voter in the election and his intentions seem doubtful,” a senior leader argued.