Senior Telangana leader Srinivas denies joining Congress
Hyderabad, March 27: A day after "rejoining" the Congress, former MP of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Dharmapuri Srinivas on Monday denied it and clarified that it was his son Dharmapuri Sanjay who joined the Congress.
In a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Srinivas said that he had accompanied his son to Gandhi Bhavan, the state party headquarters.
"By offering me party kanduva, some leaders claimed that I too have joined the Congress. If it is believed that I joined the Congress party, I am hereby resigning," wrote Srinivas, whose other son D. Arvind is the BJP MP from Nizamabad.
The former minister requested the Congress party not to drag him into any controversy and clarified that he was staying away from politics due to his age.
Srinivas named his wife D. Vijayalaxmi as the witness. She also issued a separate statement requesting Congress not to use Srinivas for politics.
Stating that he suffered a brain stroke in the past, she claimed that due to yesterday's pressure, he suffered fits last night.
"I am requesting Congress leaders with folded hands not to come this side again. At this age when he is not keeping good health, allow him to live peacefully," she wrote.
Srinivas had visited Gandhi Bhavan on Sunday and it was claimed that he re-joined the Congress after nine years.
Srinivas was leading the Congress in undivided Andhra Pradesh when it returned to power in 2004. He twice headed Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and also served as a minister in Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy cabinet.
Srinivas had switched loyalties to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) after it formed the first government in newly-carved out Telangana state in 2014. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had rewarded him with the post of special advisor to the government and later made him Rajya Sabha member in 2016.
However, on the eve of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the senior leader from Nizamabad faced allegations of anti-party activities. It was alleged that he promoted his son Arvind who joined the BJP.
Since then Srinivas was staying away from active politics.