Hyderabad: The tumult in the ruling Congress
in Andhra Pradesh in the aftermath of rout in Assembly bypolls
continued on Friday.
Congress MP from Telangana, G Vivek, today said Chief
Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was responsible for the poor
showing.
Yesterday, Health Minister D L Ravindra Reddy had sent
his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi taking "moral
responsibility" for the defeat, while outgoing Rajya Sabha
member Keshav Rao had blamed the Chief Minister.
Vivek today said, "There was a police repression in
Telangana region. The outcome of bypolls is a result of such
initiatives by the Chief Minister. He should take
responsibility for this defeat."
"It is being said that CM and PCC president should own
responsibility. They need not quit, but they should convey
correct picture on Telangana agitation to the central
leadership," another Congress MP, Ponnam Prabhakar, said
today.
On the other hand, dismissing the argument that Chief
Minister and state Congress president should take
responsibility, Congress chief whip Gandra Venkata Ramana
Reddy said ministers from concerned districts should own the
responsibility.
"I am district Congress president in Warangal. So, I
will take responsibility for the defeat in my district....It
is not correct to say that Chief Minister and PCC president
should quit," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha too is
reportedly of the view that Chief Minister should take the
blame.
Outgoing Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao, who failed to
get nomination for another term, has also trained guns on
the Chief Minister, saying that his style of functioning is
responsible for party`s poor performance.
Senior Congress MLA, P Shankar Rao, who was removed as a
minister recently, said the CM and the cabinet should make
way for party high command to take corrective measures.
Congress drew a blank in the bypolls for seven assembly
constituencies, as results were announced on March 21.
Significantly, its candidate was relegated to the third place
in Kovur, where the candidate of YSR Congress of YS Jagan
Mohan Reddy won.
PTI
