Owners of TRS, not beggars, says Etala Rajender

Karimnagar: Health minister Etala Rajender on Thursday sounded the bugle of public defiance, if not outright rebellion, in response to media reports that he would be dropped from the Cabinet.

Mr Rajender, who was addressing a gathering of party leaders of the Huzurabad constituency, said, “I have never begged anyone to give me a minister’s post on the BC quota. I am going to quit politics if anyone can prove that I had taken even Rs 5 bribe from in my 15 years of political career,” he said.

This newspaper had reported that Mr Rajender had come under suspicion of leaking details of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s meeting with collectors, which was held a few days previously to discuss the new Revenue Act to be enacted in the state. As the leak came to the CM’s notice, he had made up his mind to drop Mr Rajender.

As reported, Mr Rajendar came under suspicion of leaking details of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s meeting with collectors, which was held a few days ago to discuss the new revenue act to be enacted in the state.

Mr Rajendar said that he had “not joined the pink party during the middle of the agitation, like other leaders, for the sake of power”.

He said he was in the struggle, along with lakhs of others, right from the beginning.

Facing hardships and severe struggles. He said he, and those like him, who had participated in the separate Telangana movement and achieved separate statehood have every right to be called “owners of the party”.

“When I was participating in the separate Telangana movement, some people even tried to kill me but never went back or left the flag,” he said.

Mr Rajendar said that he do not want to respond to any kind of “cheap publicity done by certain leaders, who joined the party in the middle of the agitation for power”, who want to ruin the party and Telangana.

He advised party members and leaders to be aware of such type of leaders, who are playing cruel politics, with a cunning mentality.

“Position and power are not permanent. Loyalty and justice are values which will be counted in future. People are observing every move of such leaders and would teach them a fitting lesson in the days to come,” he warned.