BRS challenges Revanth Reddy to make defectors resign and win bypolls

Hyderabad, July 1: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Monday challenged Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to have the six MLAs of his party who joined the Congress resign and get re-elected.

He reminded Revanth Reddy of his own words when he was in the opposition, claiming there would be no defections if Congress came to power. The BRS leader also recalled Revanth Reddy's statement that defectors should be stoned if they change the party they were elected from.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, questioned who should face the public's anger in the current scenario – Revanth Reddy, the defectors from BRS, or Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing a meeting of party workers in Jagtial, he highlighted that Gandhi had previously demanded that if an elected representative switches parties, their membership should be automatically cancelled. He pointed out that the Congress had assured the same in its manifesto.

KTR urged people to recognise the contradiction between what Gandhi and Revanth Reddy promised and what they are currently doing.

He mentioned that even Congress MLC Jeevan Reddy criticised his own party over the defections from the BRS to the Congress, ignoring its electoral manifesto assurance. He said that the Congress started the practice of defections under (late Prime Minister) Indira Gandhi's regime and continued it in united Andhra Pradesh. He recalled that Congress made 10 TRS (now BRS) MLAs defect after the 2004 elections.

The BRS leader claimed that despite the defections, the BRS would not become weaker because the lakhs of the party cadre remain loyal. He alleged Jagtial MLA Sanjay Kumar who joined Congress of doing so under the pretence of development. He called on the people of Jagtial to fight against the immoral defection of their MLA to the Congress.

KTR accused the Congress government of diverting attention from its failures and unfulfilled electoral promises by enticing BRS MLAs to join its ranks. He criticized Revanth Reddy for delaying the implementation of doubling the welfare pensions, increasing the financial assistance under the Rythu Bandhu scheme to Rs 15,000, and providing Rs 2,500 for women and many other promises.