Vivek, Vinod rejoin Cong

New Delhi: The Congress party on Monday scored a major political point, as Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders G Vivekanand and his brother G Vinod quit the party to rejoin the Congress, ahead of the simultaneous Assembly and Parliament elections in Telangana.

Unhappy over the TRS going back on its word of merging the party with Congress and refusing to have any alliance, the ruling party tried and succeeded in weaning away the brothers. AICC SC Cell in-charge K Raju has been entrusted with the task of wooing back former Congress MPs into the party fold. Even AICC vice-president Rajhul Gandhi was said to have spoken to Vivek and asked him to come back to Congress since it had kept its promise of carving separate Telangana. Vivek had left the party, expressing his displeasure over the delay in the announcement by Congress on T State.

During the past three days, Vivek and Vinod met several senior leaders such as Jairam Ramesh and Digvijay Singh. According to sources, the Congress party is now trying to see that even Manda Jagannatham, MP from Nagarkurnool, rejoins the party.

Before making a formal announcement about their home coming, Vivek and Vinod called on Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Vivek quit the Congress on June 2, 2013, to join the TRS.

G Vivek recalled his father G Venkatswamy’s 60-year-long association with the Congress and said it was a major factor in his returning to the party-fold. G Venkatswamy took part in the separate Telangana agitation in 1969 and played a role in the party taking a pro-Telangana stand in 2004. He favoured the merger or at least an electoral alliance of the TRS with the Congress.

Vivek said after the merger or electoral alliance talks completely broke down, he had no other option but to return to the Congress. He had said that if the Telangana Bill is passed he was prepared to join the Congress. After the Telangana Bill was passed, he was bound to join the Congress.

The decision was delayed because of the TRS merger or alliance talks and after the breakdown of the negotiations he had decided to join the Congress. “After all that Sonia Gandhi had done for Telangana, it is inescapable for all those, who stood for separate Telangana, to strengthen her hands,” Vivek said.

Former Minister G Vinod said ever since the announcement of Telangana on December 9, 2009, the Congress has been engaged in efforts to create Telangana, which touched him. He thanked Raju and Digvijay Singh and vowed to work for the success of the Congress.