Telangana Congress crisis: Seniors defer meeting after high command's intervention

Hyderabad, Dec 20: Senior leaders of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Party (TPCC) on Tuesday postponed their proposed meeting as part of the Save Congress movement following intervention by the central leadership of the party.

AICC leader Digvijay Singh telephoned former MLA Maheshwar Reddy on Tuesday and asked him to cancel the meeting of senior leaders scheduled at his residence later in the day.

The central leader told him that if there are any issues, they will be sorted out by the central leadership through talks. Singh asked Reddy to convey the same to all seniors.

Maheshwar Reddy told reporters that Digvijay Singh informed him that he would soon visit Hyderabad to speak to all leaders and prepare a report.

"Since a senior leader like Mr Digvijay Singh has intervened and assured that he will hold talks with all and sort out the issue, we have decided to postpone the meeting," Reddy said.

The former MLAs welcomed the intervention by the AICC and hoped that the issues raised by them will be addressed.

Replying to a query, he said the senior leaders have no demands. "We just want to save the Congress party and we are moving ahead with the slogan of Save Congress," he said.

Maheshwar Reddy said the leaders and workers who have been working for the party with commitment and dedication to its principles for the last 40 years want justice to be done to them.

"It's our internal matter," he quipped when asked if the seniors will submit a report to Digvijay Singh.

He also denied that some senior leaders have met with state BJP president or were in touch with the saffron party.

A group of senior leaders had met on December 17 and decided to launch save Congress movement in what is seen as a revolt against TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy. They alleged that the leaders who migrated to the Congress party from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were given priority in the newly constituted state body.

Senior party leaders, who have been in the party from the start of their respective political careers, declared that they are launching aSave Congress in Telangana' movement to protect the party from what they described as a leader who came into the Congress after shifting loyalties from party to party.

This was a direct attack on Revanth Reddy, who had come to the party from TDP in 2017.

The crisis deepened the next day when 13 leaders who had defected to the party from TDP in the past and considered loyal to Revanth Reddy announced their resignations from the party posts.