Peddapalli: Accusing Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of deceiving him by not allotting the Peddapalli Lok Sabha ticket, senior politician G. Vivek on Saturday said that he got “freedom from slavery” by leaving the TRS.
Speaking to the media, Mr Vivek said, “I never thought KCR would ill-treat and insult me by denying me a ticket. He on numerous occasions assured me that he would allot Peddapalli ticket, due to my father Kaka Venkataswamy’s services and efforts in helping achieve separate statehood”.
On the allegations levelled by TRS MLAs against him, Mr Vivek said, “I have worked hard for the victory of TRS MLAs under the Peddapalli Parliament segment. If the allegations against me are proven correct then the TRS working president, K.T. Rama Rao can suspend me.”
“I may not have felt sorry if the ticket had been allotted to a candidate who actively participated in the separate Telangana movement”, he added.
It may be recalled that, Venkataswamy was the one who had initiated the formation of a separate Telangana state. Venkataswamy had walked out of a Congress working committee meeting demanding that the Congress leadership include the creation of a separate Telangana state in the UPA manifesto.
When Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was against joining hands with the TRS, it was Venkataswamy who pressurised Sonia Gandhi to join hands with the TRS for the sake of Telangana.
Mr Vivek said, “Recognising Kaka’s efforts, Mr Rao had promised to name the Peddapalli district after Venkataswamy but is he is yet to implement it.”
Highlighting his contribution, Mr Vivek said that it was he who took the initiation to waive `10,000 crore loans for re-opening of the Ramagundam Fertilizer Company. He added that other party leaders have been requesting him to join their party along with assuring him a ticket.
“I will take a decision about my future plan of action, after consulting with my followers and well-wishers. I promise the people of Telangana that I will strive to resolve the issues they are facing”, Mr Vivek added.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced its second list of six candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. They include S. Kumar for Peddapalli LS seat. With the announcement of the BJP candidates, the Peddapalli segment is all set to witness a tough fight between B. Venkatesh Netha (TRS), Dr A. Chandrashekar (Congress) and S. Kumar (BJP).
