Hyderabad: Serious differences between two groups of Congress leaders in the Patancheru assembly constituency were out in the open on Thursday, January 23, as one of the groups held a flash protest blocking the Patancheru bus stand area and also going to the extent of laying siege to Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy’s camp office.
The differences have been simmering ever since Mahipal Reddy who had won on a BRS ticket, had joined the Congress, though Patancheru Congress in-charge Kata Srinivas Goud was against the idea of inducting him into the party.
Goud’s followers who have been the original Congress workers, have been alleging that Reddy was using his followers to attack the Congress leaders in the constituency. The Congress workers alleged that Reddy was not giving any information about his official programmes to Congress workers and leaders, and has been working as if he was above the party in the constituency.
Couple of days ago, during one of the official programmes in IDA Bollarum, Mahipal Reddy was known to have hurled abuses against the original Congress leaders, which only added fuel to the fire. Even in an official programme in Tellapur, Congress workers protested against Mahipal Reddy’s indifference towards the party’s cadres.
Though the Congress workers have been urging the party high command to resolve the issues between the leaders in the constituency, nothing was done, which spurred the Congress workers to take the matter in their own hands with the slogan “Save Congress, Save Patancheru,” demanding the suspension of Mahipal Reddy from the Congress.
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On Thursday, Congress workers assembled in large numbers outside Reddy’s camp office and tried to break into the office, but were prevented by the police stationed there from doing so. A few Congress workers held chief minister Revanth Reddy’s portrait and made their way into the MLA’s office.
The Congress workers alleged that Mahipal Reddy was not even putting Revanth Reddy’s portrait in his office, though he had a photo of BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) on the wall. They broke the pin coloured plastic chairs that were inside the MLA’s office and raised slogans against Mahipal Reddy.
Later in the evening, Mahipal Reddy held a press meet, where he said that it was foolishness of those who were complaining about his picture with KCR mounted on the wall of his office.
“That picture was from the time when I was the mandal president. As a chief minister who developed the state for 10 years, what’s wrong with having his photo in my camp office? In the government offices people are required to have the portraits of the chief minister, Dr BR Ambedkar and also the prime minister. But this is my official residence where I can stay with my family. It’s my wish whose portrait I want to have and whose I don’t want to have,” he said.
When being questioned why he was not wearing the tri-coloured khanduva (scarf) around his neck if he now belonged to the Congress, he said that there would be many scarves and that he has been in touch with 6-7 chief ministers since the time of former chief minister T Anjaiah.
Presently there are three factions of Congress leaders in Patancheru constituency- Mahipal Reddy, Kata Srinivas and Neelam Madhu. Unless the party high command intervenes and takes steps to set the things right, the party could end up further disintegrating in the constituency, feel Congress workers.
