BANGALORE: The re-entry of the former Union Minister Srinivas Prasad into the Congress has met with serious opposition from Congress leader and former Minister M. Mahadev, who hails from Mr Prasad's home district of Chamarajanagar.

Mr. Mahadev told The Hindu on Wednesday that he would take up the matter with All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi in the first week of January. Describing himself as a loyal Congress worker, he said he was resorting to such a step only to "save the Congress" with which he has associated himself for the last 35 years.

Alleging that Mr. Prasad had switched different political parties only for the sake of power, Mr. Mahadev ridiculed Mr Prasad's statement that he would involve himself in the party-building activity in the Congress.

He argued that Mr. Prasad's rejoining the Congress had affected the morale of sincere Congress workers. He accused Mr. Prasad of being responsible for replacing the Chamarajanagar District Congress Committee president within days of rejoining the Congress. Such a measure in which a Dalit leader had been removed from the post of district unit president had created unrest among the district unit of the party, he claimed.

Mr. Mahadev said Mr Prasad had rejoined the Congress only to get "oxygen for political survival."

Mr Prasad evaded a direct reply when asked by presspersons to comment on Mr. Mahadev's opposition to his re-entry to the Congress. All that Mr Prasad had to say was that he never believed in groupism.

Memorandum

Later in the day, a large number of Congress leaders and party workers, said to be the supporters of former District Congress Committee president Siddaraju, came to the KPCC office and submitted a memorandum to KPCC president Mallikarjun Kharge expressing displeasure over the unceremonious removal of Mr Siddaraju from the DCC president's post.

Mr Kharge is said to have assured the workers of bringing their grievances to the notice of the party high command.

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