Congress MPs Rayapati, Lagadapati confirms their presence in the AICC meet.
MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao (File pic)
Hyderabad: There is confusion among Congress leaders over attending the day-long AICC special session convened in Delhi on January 17.
The Pradesh Congress Committee office has clearly conveyed to the All India Congress Committee that members who are planning to quit the party and those who had given notice for a no-confidence motion against the Congress-led UPA government should not be invited. But it appears that the AICC has already invited some dissident and disgruntled partymen.
The session is meant for AICC delegates, which includes ministers, MPs, legislators and senior Congress leaders. “We have conveyed our displeasure at leaders who have been defying the party being invited,” a key source in AP Congress Committee told this newspaper.
When contacted, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, senior MP from Guntur, and Lagadapati Rajagopal, twice MP from Vijayawada, confirmed that they would be attending the AICC meet.
“I got the invitation, I am going to attend (the session),” Sambasiva Rao said. Rajagopal said that he would head for Delhi after the conclusion of the tenth day ceremony of his late father on January 16.
These two MPs had announced that they would quit the Congress and float their own outfit to protest the party’s decision to split the state.
“The AICC had earlier said they would be expelled after being issued show-cause notices. But there is no surprise if if all of them are invited for the AICC session and they attend it,” a party MP said.
Along with them, four other party MPs — Sabbam Hari, G.V. Harsha Kumar, A. Sai Pratap and Vundavalli Arun Kumar — had issued notice for a no-confidence motion against the UPA.
Government in Delhi and stalled proceedings during the recent Winter Session of Parliament.
“The AICC had earlier said they would be expelled soon, after being issued show-cause notices for their indiscipline. But there is no surprise if if all of them have been invited for the AICC session and they attend it,” a party MP said.
He said it was difficult to accept the party leadership’s attitude as well as that of the state government, which is encouraging dissident MPs and ministers even now by sanctioning works and funds in their constituencies.
For instance, ministers Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Erasu Pratap Reddy, and T.G. Venkatesh have announced that they will quit the Congress if the state is divided.
Yet, the party has failed to groom an alternative leadership in their constituencies. More surprisingly, it has allowed them to grab all works and funds for their followers. “How can that be justified?” asked a senior party functionary.
( Source : dc )
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