Congress netas vent ire at PCC leadership

The State Congress leadership for the first time witnessed the anger and anguish of the party workers at the meeting of the grass-root level leaders held here on Wednesday.

Various second rung leaders of the Congress, who took part in the meeting, felt that they were being used by the party at the time of the elections and were being dumped later. Making brief but pointed speeches, mandal and block level presidents said that the party leadership was exploiting them with promises during polls and forgetting them after coming to power.

"We have made the party win the 2004 and 2009 Assembly elections. But so far, our services have not been recognised. Nominated posts in the State government have not been filled till now. We have been left in the lurch," lamented heads of the party mandal, block and division units, who participated in the meeting. They complained that there was serious a communication gap between the State and the grass-root level units of the party.

Even when a minister passes through their villages or towns, the local leaders are not informed. Whenever any minister visits their district, he or she does not inform the party leaders they said.

Taken aback by this, the president Botcha Satyanarayana, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and AICC observer Krishnamurthy assured them that all these issues would be addressed and steps to fill nominated posts and reconstitute PCC will be taken. Henceforth, they will ensure that there would be no gap in giving prior information about the visits of the ministers or other such leaders, they said.

Though Botcha said that the T issue would not figure in the meeting, the party leaders from T region made blunt statements that the party's future was bleak in the region if high command does not take a favourable decision immediately.