No threat to Govt: Mallu Ravi

Vijayawada: Former MP and senior Congress leader Mallu Ravi asserted that the government would survive the no-confidence motion moved by the Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) and the YSR Congress. Addressing a news conference here on Friday, Ravi ridiculed the no-confidence motion and said that it was an attempt by the two smaller parties to prove their existence. He said that the two parties have faced humiliating defeat in the just-concluded cooperative elections and were worried about the impending local body elections. The two parties were not ready to face the local body elections at this stage and were in a desperate mood to avoid elections, he said. The Congress leader said that the two parties were wasting the valuable time of the Assembly by tabling the no confidence motion. He said that these parties could have used the debate on 'thanks motion' on Governor's address to the Assembly. He said that issues like power tariff hike, farmers' problems and other issues could be discussed in the Assembly only if the parties were genuinely concerned with the peoples' welfare. He was confident that the motion would be defeated in the House as the Congress had enough numbers in the Assembly, he said. The Congress leader also blamed the TRS and the YSR Congress for their short-sighted approach to the Assembly proceedings and the State government. He wondered why the two parties have brought the motion when they know that they have no strength to defeat the government. "If the motion is only to discuss the failures of the government, they could have used the discussion on Governor's speech to highlight the same," Ravi said. The Congress government led by Kiran Kumar Reddy would come out unscathed and rule the State till 2014 general elections, the former MP asserted. The Pradesh Congress secretary, Kolanukonda Sivaji, was also present at the news conference.