Revanth quits TDP

Vijayawada/Hyderabad: The Telangana unit of TDP suffered a major body blow on Saturday with the exit of party working president A Revanth Reddy.

Revanth put in his papers, resigning from the party primary membership, state working president’s post and also from his MLA post amidst a high drama at Amaravati on Saturday. He met party national president and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu informally.

Naidu asked him to wait till the scheduled press conference was over and asked him to attend the party meeting with party leaders from Telangana. But Revanth submitted his four-page resignation letter to Naidu’s personal staff in the Chief Minister’s Office and left before the commencement of the meeting.

In a well-scripted drama that was being enacted for the past 10 days, Revanth had created a perfect political atmosphere to quit the TDP and join the Congress.

In another dramatic development, AICC in-charge of Telangana R C Kunthia is coming to Hyderabad on Sunday to work out the modalities of admitting Revanth into the party in New Delhi.

Revanth proposes to go to Delhi accompanied by his close associate Vem Narender and his followers from Kodangal to formally join the Congress on November 2 in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.

In his letter to Naidu explaining the reasons for his decision to join the Congress, Revanth said he had been fighting against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s ‘dictatorial’ rule. Political re-alignment is the need of the hour in Telangana.

Towards this end, he is getting ready to fight to the cause of Telangana, he added. “After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana state has been in the clutches of KCR’s family. The KCR’s family was looting the state in the guise of Bangaru Telangana,” he said. It is high time that all the forces should unite on a single platform in the fight against KCR and family rule. Under these circumstances, Revanth said he felt the need to intensify his struggle against the TRS.

The TDP leader explained how tribals were being harassed, Dalits attacked and BCs are being targeted by the KCR government. Cases were foisted against those who raise voice against the government. The government was also resorting to suspending the legislators in the Assembly for raising people’s issues, he said.

Recalling the note-for-vote incident, Revanth said he was intimidated and jailed by registering false cases against him. “Telangana is now expecting a viable realignment of political forces against the KCR government.

I request you to see my resignation from that angle only,” he told Naidu in the resignation letter. He further added: “I feel it is call of my duty to liberate Telangana from the clutches of autocratic and corrupt family rule of Chief Minister KCR. I also feel I cannot deliver this noble cause by continuing in the TDP. Therefore, I am left with no alternative but to leave the party with all the pain.”

Thanking Naidu for giving him an opportunity to grow as a big leader in TDP in a short time, Revanth said he owes a lot to the party and its president who is like a father figure to him. He said he had learnt the ABC of politics from Naidu and grew rapidly in state politics.

The commitment of NTR towards empowerment of poor was his inspiration to join the TDP and he can never forget his mother party.

The letter even struck an emotional cord by recalling how Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari performed an engagement function for his daughter playing parental role when he was in the prison in connection with his involvement in the note- for-vote scam. “I am always grateful to madam Bhuvaneswari and you (Naidu) for standing by my family when I was in troubles,” he said.