Komatireddy brothers, prominent Congress leaders from Nalgonda district, phoo-phooed that talk of their possible crossing over to ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), as has been reported in a section of media. The brothers, Venkatareddy (MLA) and Rajagopal Reddy (MLC), according media reports, are the next target of of TRS and the pink emissaries are already in touch with the duo.
However, Komatireddy bros, dismissed the talk. They said neither of them had been contacted by the TRS leaders nor was there any plan to leave the Congress in their minds.
The duo, though they are in Congress, has not been active in Congress. They have not been sighted at any meeting of the party nor did they participate in any of the election campaigns in the recent past. This is attributed the factionalism in the Congress party of Nalgonda district, which is considered as the fortress of the party. PCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy is from Nalgodan district, so is opposition leader K Jana Reddy. The lone Congress Lok Sabha member from Telangana Gutha Sukhender Reddy represents Nalgonda constituency. The multitude of stalwarts is said to be the reason for the differences among the Congress leaders.
Even though Rajgopal Reddy, who was earlier MP from Bhongir Lok Sabha contituency, got elected to Legislative Council as Congress nominee, he is seldom seen in the Congress activities at Gandhi Bhavan. This has given rise to the speculation that KCR is trying to wean away Komatireddy brothers into TRS and his representative are in touch with them.
Against this background, came the clarification from Rajgopal Reddy. ” It is true the ruling TRS is trying to lure the senior leaders, especially MLAs and MLCs from the opposition parties, we are not the ones to fall easy prey to such designs,” he told media, when asked to comment on the reports of their possible crossing over to the treasury benches.
What is interesting is that he did not deny that the TRS had approached him with an offer of ‘developmental package’. Instead he said, “We fought for the statehood for the Telangana under the leadership of Congress. It was the Congress high command that was responsible for creation of separate Telangana. . We are indeed, loyal to the party, which gave us everything”, he said. But, rhetoric and reality are two different aspects in politics. Time alone will tell that the talk of their possible jumping the fence is only the speculation of media.
