The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : PJR puts TRS chief on notice

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

PJR puts TRS chief on notice

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 15. Notwithstanding directives from the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) and the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), the Congress MLA, P. Janardhan Reddy, and his followers took out a huge rally here on Wednesday to protest against the remarks of the TRS president, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, against Sonia Gandhi.

Mr. Reddy had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the TRS chief to tender an unconditional apology for his controversial statement threatening to "drag" Ms. Gandhi "through the bazaar."

As Mr. Rao did not oblige, the former CLP leader went ahead with his rally, saying he had taken clearance from the AICC, which had called for a halt to the war of words.

The rally began from Abids and culminated at the MCH office near Tank Bund. Carrying party flags and cut-outs of Ms. Gandhi, the protestors, many of them women, raised slogans against Mr. Rao. Some waved a huge banner with a photograph of the party president. Traffic came to a halt on the busy Tankbund-Abids road as the Congress rally wound its way to the MCH office.

`Emotional outburst'

Mr. Reddy defended the rally saying he had to bow to the feelings of party workers, who were "enraged" by Mr. Rao's remarks.

He clarified that he would abide by whatever the Congress high command said.

"Today's rally is nothing but an emotional outburst of Congress workers," Mr. Reddy said, warning that "anyone who dares criticise Ms. Gandhi will not be spared."

He said Congress workers had reacted sharply to criticism of the AICC chief in the past, and cautioned Mr. Rao to "mind his language" in the future and refrain from making "cheap statements" against the Congress.

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