Hyderabad: Senior Congress leaders V. Hanumantha Rao and Shabbir Ali quarrelled at a party meeting at Gandhi Bhavan, the state party headquarters, here in the presence of AICC leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Mr Azad, Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, had arrived to oversee the drafting of an action plan to organise protests against Central and state government policies.
Mr Rao said he had no information regarding Mr Azad’s visit. Mr Shabbir Ali retorted that there was no need to speak about Mr Hanumantha Rao. This triggered an argument between them.
Mr Rao alleged that Mr Shabbir Ali had called him a “dead horse” and posted in the social media, making the matter public. He said the Congress leaders were being ignored and those who had joined the party recently and had RSS and BJP leanings were being promoted.
He questioned the importance given to Mr A. Revanth Reddy, Malkajgiri MP and state Congress working president. “On every issue Shabbir Ali is supporting Revanth Reddy and called me a dead horse,” Mr Rao said.
Reacting to this, Mr Shabbir Ali denied using such a term and claimed that he was being unnecessarily blamed. When Mr Rao said Mr Shabbir Ali has posted this in social media, to which he responded with a “shut up”.
Both leaders lapsed into the singular while addressing each other. Mr Azad tried to pacify them but was ignored. Later, Mr Rao left the meeting abruptly.
