Hyderabad: TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud said on Saturday that the party’s Janhita Padayatra was being held on the orders of the AICC and had drawn strong public support.
He told reporters the padayatra would be held in selected assembly constituencies every month. The second phase is planned for the last week of August. He also said AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi could not attend the recent Delhi dharna due to unavoidable reasons.
Party discipline and BC reservations
Goud said the AICC was reviewing comments made by MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. He added that Congress leader Konda Murali’s case would be closed soon. The party had served a show-cause notice to MLA Anirudh Reddy for his remarks and taken an explanation.
He stressed that the State government was committed to implementing BC reservations, calling the demand legitimate. He accused Opposition parties of making baseless allegations for political gain.
Criticism of BJP and ED misuse
Goud alleged that only 3.5% of Enforcement Directorate cases involved BJP allies, while 96.5% targeted Opposition leaders. He accused the BJP of influencing the Election Commission. He said the State government was acting methodically on corruption and irregularities, including the Kaleshwaram and phone-tapping cases.
Responding to Union Minister Bandi Sanjay’s claim that the Congress and BRS were alike, Goud said Sanjay was removed as BJP State chief under a BJP–BRS understanding. He alleged that Union Minister Kishan Reddy had taken both the Secunderabad MP ticket and the State BJP president post from BC leaders.
Plans for Jubilee Hills bypoll
Goud said Congress would conduct a survey before choosing its candidate for the Jubilee Hills Assembly by-election and announce the name after the notification. He accused former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao of breaking the tradition of avoiding contests when a sitting MLA dies.
He said the party was united on local body elections and preferred to face polls only after finalising reservations. He also questioned why Muslim reservations given in Gujarat were not extended to Telangana.
