The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has blamed Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao for its expulsion from the political Joint Action Committee (JAC) and said the action was a sequel to the refusal of the party to toe his line.
The TDP discussed the JAC's decision announced around midnight on Friday at a meeting of the party leaders from Telangana here on Saturday.
Convener of Telangana TDP forum Nagam Janardhan Reddy told reporters that the JAC had become the family concern of Mr. Rao. “Kodandaram presides and KCR & family decides” matters pertaining to JAC, he added.
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Mr. Reddy saw no logic in JAC's argument that it decided to expel TDP because the party got JAC supporters arrested during its president N. Chandrababu Naidu's tour of flood-hit parts in Mahabubnagar on Friday.
“The JAC should have questioned the Congress which is in power rather than target the TDP,” he said.
JAC convener Kodandaram and Mr. Rao were silent when the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government declared that it was not possible to reach an understanding on separate Telangana.
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However, Mr. Kodandaram and Mr. Rao colluded to get rid of the TDP on the issue of arrests which had nothing to do with the party, Mr. Reddy observed.
He also said the TDP had observed all the conditions laid down by the JAC while participating in its activities. It was Mr. Rao who violated the conditions. Yet, the TDP continued to be associated with the JAC in the interest of strengthening the separate Telangana movement.
The TDP contributed immensely to the growth of the JAC as a powerful organisation.
However, the committee was now reduced to a single-party entity comprising TRS because of poor leadership of Mr. Kodandaram and KCR, he alleged.
Speaking to mediapersons earlier, Mr. Kodandaram justified the expulsion of the TDP from the JAC because the party failed to condemn the arrests and did not apologise for the attack on Telangana lawyers recently.