Khammam: Congress candidate for the Khammam Lok Sabha constituency Renuka Chowdhary found herself fielding the speculation that she had been bought off and had dropped out of the race.
She alleged that the genesis of the rumour, which went viral on social media, on Wednesday was her opponent, Nama Nageshwara Rao of the TRS, whom she pointed out was facing a CBI case.
After receiving several calls, including in her office, from party leaders and others, she came before the media to declare, “I am very much in the contest and my opponent is trying to spread false news that I am away from the fray,” she said. When a journalist asked Chowdhary is she was bought for `25 crore for keeping away from the contest in Khammam, she replied, “There is no person in the country to buy Renuka. People know him (referring to Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao) very well and even the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project (SRLIP) cost (`13,000 crore) will not be enough to buy me.”
Former minister and Congress senior leader Sambhani Chandrasekhar wanted to address the false propaganda in the social media allegedly being made by the opposition party candidate. The irked Renuka fumed against the TRS candidate.
Congress leaders and cadre were told that the party would bear only the polling booth expenses and not distribute money to the voters. The decision was discussed hotly among the party cadre in the villages and the news against Renuka started spreading.
She said that the Congress prospects in Khammam were very good and she would address the media on May 24 as the MP of Khammam. Of TRS candidate Nama Nageswara Rao, she said, “I will buy these persons and I need not sell myself.”
She said that some of the political parties had tuned the elections into a money-making exercise and were spending crores without any hesitation, but that she was against such spending. “My opponent is taking advantage of this,” she said.
“There is lot of surge in favour of Congress and voters are openly opposing the buying of MLAs by the ruling party. TRS and its leaders are unable to digest it and running a false campaign against me,”
“There should be some check on our (candidate) part on increasing expenditure in the elections. Where is the money coming from? Contractors and businessmen who earned illegally are spending crores in the elections,” she said. And added that Congress leaders were supporting her idea and working for the party by bearing the expenses from their own pockets.
As a result of this, the rival candidate started fearing defeat and began the false propaganda, she claimed.
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