As another BRS MLA defected to the Congress in Telangana, KT Rama Rao, working president of the regional party, lashed out at Rahul Gandhi over the promise in the Congress manifesto that it would amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution for automatic disqualification of defectors if voted to power.
After Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender and Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari, it was the turn of Bhadrachalam MLA Tellam Venkat Rao to join the Congress on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and minister P Srinivas Reddy. This prompted Rao to slam Congress MP Rahul Gandhi who yesterday addressed a public rally near Hyderabad and spoke about the Congress and its poll promises.
Yesterday, the BRS reacted sharply to the presence of defectors, Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari, on the dais when Gandhi was speaking about the party manifesto at the Jana Jatara rally in Tukkuguda.
“This is the hypocrisy of a party called Congress. Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi waxed eloquent on defections and amendments to the 10th Schedule for automatic disqualification. Today, his party shamelessly poached one BRS MLA. When you don’t mean it, why this nautanki (drama) Rahulji?” KT Rama Rao asked in an X post soon after the third BRS MLA joined the Congress.
State Irrigation Minister and N Uttam Kumar Reddy, while facilitating a breakaway faction of the BRS MLAs to merge with the Congress, announced that 25-26 BRS MLAs are set to join his party in the coming days.
This is similar to what the BRS had done in the second term of K Chandrasekhar Rao, weaning away two-thirds of the Congress legislative party members. While the BRS with a full majority did not require the support of Congress MLAs, Rao sought to weaken the Congress. The BRS MLAs, particularly from Hyderabad and adjoining areas, failed to win a single seat in this urban belt.