BackTRS one-man party, alleges leader who quit to join Congress
Reddy also said there was injustice meted out to TRS workers and functionaries as well, who are unhappy in the party
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Hyderabad: Hitting out against the K. Chandrashekar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), former party MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who quit and joined the Congress last week, said that he chose to leave as the TRS functioned more like a one-man party. Reddy also said there was “injustice" meted out to TRS workers and functionaries as well, who are unhappy in the party.
“TRS floor leader in Parliament Jithender Reddy told me that the party is like a private limited company and asked me to keep quiet (on issues). The main reason I decided to quit was that the TRS is a single-man run party, where there is no discussion. In fact, they would even make fun of my dressing and pass comments," alleged Reddy, while addressing a press conference on Sunday after joining the Congress formally. He also resigned from his Chevella Lok Sabha seat last week.
Reddy’s departure from the TRS two weeks away from the 7 December polls might have a negative impact in the assembly seats that fall under the Chevella Lok Sabha seat. The former parliamentarian comes from an illustrious family. His grandfather is Konda Venkata Pratap Reddy, who is a former deputy chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy said even during the reign of the Nizams (in the Asaf Jai era, when Hyderabad was a separate state), his grandfather was a nominated member of the state legislature and would be consulted by the then ruler to pass laws. “Even at that time, there used to be discussions. But now, even after that era has passed, one man is deciding everything," he added.
Reddy, who admitted he had differences with (caretaker) transport minister (and ex-Tandur MLA) P. Mahender Reddy, claimed that things were controlled so tightly by Rao that the state finance minister would not even know what is in the budget till the morning before the assembly sessions would begin. He alleged that another TRS MP had called him once and told him not to attend Parliament for three days while it was in session as a form of protest.
“I tried to be a good member of Parliament and I had full attendance. The right way to protest would be to walk out of the hall after raising your issues. And as an MP, I would travel across villages in my constituency. But when I would go to Tandur (assembly seat), KTR (caretaker IT minister K. T. Rama Rao) would call me and tell me not to meet people there (because of P. Mahender Reddy)," Vishweshwar Reddy alleged.
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