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Internal rifts rock Cong; take toll on governance
In Short
The Congress government's 1,000-day milestone in Telangana is overshadowed by internal party controversies, high command interventions, and cabinet reshuffles.
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V Hanumantha Rao
The Congress government’s completion of 1,000 days in office in Telangana, supposed to be an opportunity for it to showcase its achievements in the state and project political positivity across the nation, has instead been overshadowed by a series of internal controversies, including ugly ones that spilled over the party high command in Delhi.
The public statements made or endorsed by leaders within the party -- the latest being those by Konda Surekha’s daughter Sushmitha, while led to removal of Konda Surekha from the Cabinet -- Dr. G. Chinna Reddy, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, Janampally Anirudh Reddy and others, have troubled the Congress party, irrespective of whether the comments in question were right or wrong.
Noticeably, the Congress removed Konda Surekha from the Cabinet and Dr. G. Chinna Reddy from the Planning Board vice-chairman post on the very next day after completing 1,000 days in office, on September 2.
The removal of Minister Konda Surekha from the Cabinet for virtually endorsing allegations made by her daughter Sushmitha, disciplinary action against senior leaders Chinna Reddy and Jakkidi Prabhakar Reddy, and remarks by Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy have compounded the political challenges facing the party.
Another concern for the Congress leadership is that some of these disputes have reached Delhi, specifically to the party high command, requiring its intervention. Amidst ugly developments, top Telangana Congress leaders, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and Ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Tummala Nageshwara Rao and Vivek Venkata Swamy, along with TPCC chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, stayed put in Delhi on September 1, instead of heralding celebrations to mark the completion of 1,000 days in office.
Among its many pre-poll promises, the Congress party came to power with an alluring assurance that it would scrap the Dharani portal and resolve the land-related problems associated with it immediately after assuming office. The Congress government did introduce Bhu Bharati in place of Dharani, but the portal is yet to fully meet the party’s assurances regarding purification of land records. Besides, the government is now facing flak over the ‘22-A’ land disputes, which have been dominating the political discourse.
Speaking to ‘The Hans India’, a senior Congress leader and Government Advisor (BC Welfare) V Hanumantha Rao said that the Congress government was fulfilling its assurances one after another. He said the government could have fulfilled all its assurances if the previous BRS government had not left the state burdened with debt of more than Rs.8 lakh crore. Nevertheless, he asserted that the Congress government would continue to fulfil its promises.
“Our government is constructing the Fourth City, taking up the Musi Rejuvenation Project and extending Metro Rail to the Old City, Irrigation projects besides implementing many other assurances. Our government is moving forward sincerely. However, the Opposition is unnecessarily criticising the government, instead of offering suggestions,” he said.
