Andhra Pradesh   

Dissident MLA returns to TRS partyfold

Special Correspondent

New twist to the ongoing controversy in the party

HYDERABAD: In a new twist to the on-going controversy in the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, a party MLA, Soyam Bapu Rao, has returned to the partyfold, and alleged that the dissident legislators have lured him to their camp with a promise of paying Rs. 30 lakhs.

On a day of dramatic developments, the TRS leaders presented him before the media where he narrated how the rebels wooed him, allegedly at the behest of the Congress party. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bapu Rao, who along with seven other rebels had released an open letter to the party president, said his colleague, Narayan Rao Patel, had summoned him to Bhainsa and promised Rs. 30 lakhs if he supported the rebels.

"He told me that another dissident leader M. Satyanarayana Reddy had already received Rs. 25 lakhs. I acted as if I was sailing with them but I was briefing my party chief everyday," he said. He maintained that accompanied by Mr. Patel, he met Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who promised him of treatment on a par with any other Congress MLA if the dissident activity continued.

"When I insisted on the promised money, Mr. Patel and Mr. Mukunda Reddy asked me to wait for few more days," he said. "After waiting for eight days, I returned to expose their intentions," Mr. Rao, said admitting that he acted at the behest of the party chief.

Another MLA, C. Laxma Reddy, who is backing the leadership of K. Chandrasekhara Rao, also accused rebel legislator Duggiyala Srinivasa Rao of trying to lure him to the rebel group.

Soon after Mr. Bapu Rao came out with his allegations, the party was abuzz with activity.

Sharp reaction

Rebel MLAs — Satyanarayana Reddy and Srinivasa Rao — reacted sharply to the accusations and charged the leadership with trying to divert the people's attention from the issues raised by them. They said in Warangal that Mr. Bapu Rao had not been in touch with them for the last three days and was making wild charges at the behest of some leaders in the party.

Mr. Patel refuted the charges and said that he was quitting the post of Adilabad district convenor. Government Chief Whip N. Kiran Kumar Reddy advised the TRS leaders to take care of their internal matters instead of mudslinging against the Congress.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Burning fervour
Eager to set things right
Communion of the devout
Continuing the tradition
Gang raids grocery shop in Kurnool
Dissident MLA returns to TRS partyfold
Briefly

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu