Surekha Meets Revanth After AICC’s Disapproval

Hyderabad: The Congress high command has reportedly warned Minister Konda Surekha and her family over their recent conduct, following internal turmoil in the party triggered by the removal of her Officer on Special Duty (OSD), N. Sumanth.

Acting on the directive of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Surekha and her husband Konda Murali, met Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday evening to explain controversial remarks made by their daughter Sushmita against the Chief Minister, his adviser Vem Narender Reddy, and minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. The sudden meeting, held at the Chief Minister’s residence on Diwali evening, created a buzz in political circles.

The meeting took place at the Chief Minister’s residence in Jubilee Hills, where deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and state Congress chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud accompanied the Konda couple. Party sources said Bhatti and Goud had earlier visited Konda Surekha’s residence to convey the high command’s instruction to immediately meet the Chief Minister, offer an explanation, and help defuse the escalating situation.

During the hour-long discussion, Revanth Reddy, Bhatti, and Mahesh Kumar Goud are learnt to have conveyed the AICC’s displeasure over the recent developments, which they felt had embarrassed both the party and the government. The high command reportedly expressed anger over what it viewed as a public display of indiscipline by the Konda family, saying their statements had provided political ammunition to the opposition.

The AICC leadership is understood to have warned Surekha to address grievances within the party framework and refrain from making public statements that could damage the image of the party or the government. The high command reportedly cited multiple past instances in which the Konda couple made controversial remarks against party leaders and ministers, cautioning that such indiscipline would no longer be tolerated, regardless of their seniority or influence.

The controversy began after a police team visited Surekha’s residence on the night of October 15 to arrest Sumanth, who had been removed as OSD earlier following allegations that he had threatened a cement factory’s management with a firearm for extortion.

Sushmita, Surekha’s daughter, confronted the police, demanding an arrest warrant and alleging that her parents were being targeted on caste grounds. She claimed that leaders from the Reddy community in the Congress were targeting them because they belonged to the Backward Classes community.