Rajya Sabha Bypolls: Singhvi to file papers today

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader Abishek Manu Singhvi will be filing his nomination as party candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll from Telangana at 11 am on Monday.

The vacancy had arisen following the resignation of BRS member K Keshav Rao, who had resigned from the pink party before joining the Congress.

A special meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was held here on Sunday evening to introduce Singhvi to all the ministers, MLAs and MLCs.

The CLP felt that Singhvi would be an asset for Telangana as he with his experience and knowledge would be able to fight for the rights that were granted to the state mentioned in the AP State Re-Organisation Act 2014 and which could not be achieved by the previous BRS government during its decade-long rule.

Addressing the media later, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that many issues like the promised Bayyaram Steel Project, railway coach factory, irrigation and drinking water projects and many other such issues have been pending with the Centre. Singhvi, the CM said, would be the best man not only to raise the issues effectively in the Rajya Sabha but also fight the pending cases of the state in the Supreme Court as he is an eminent lawyer in the apex court. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said Singhvi was the best choice.

He has a rich political and legal background in addition to his experience and eminence as one among the top advocates in the country, the minister added. He said Singhvi’s father L S Singhvi was Indian Ambassador to the UK, member of the Lok Sabha and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Thanking Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and all Congress MLAs and MLCs, Singhvi said that he was grateful to Sonia Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge for selecting him to represent Telangana in the Rajya Sabha. “You can bank upon as the strongest voice in Parliament,” he added.