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Noisy protests mar three DCC meetings

HYDERABAD: District Congress Committee meetings in the Assembly constituencies in Telangana where byelections are due witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday, with party workers disrupting the proceedings in the presence of Ministers and senior leaders.

Noisy protests were witnessed in the Secunderabad Assembly constituency meeting and the DCC meetings in Warangal and Medak districts.

The party meetings were organised, following the directions of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in all constituencies which will have by-elections following resignations by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti legislators.

In Secunderabad, supporters of senior City Congress leader Pitla Krishna and APCC Minority Cell chairman Md. Sirajuddin clashed after the latter’s photograph was missing from the banners, put up at the venue.

Angry party workers threw chairs and set ablaze the banners and the tent, even as the Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee president Danam Nagender made a vain bid to pacify them.

Differences within the Warangal DCC came to the fore, when groups owing allegiance to Ministers Ponnala Lakshmaiah (Major Irrigation) and D.S.Redya Naik (Tribal Welfare) clashed in the presence of Home Minister K. Jana Reddy.

Activists supporting Mr. Naik accused the Major Irrigation Minister of neglecting them at the party meetings. Mr. Lakshmaiah in turn alleged that he was not being invited by the party MLAs to the constituency-level meetings.

Two groups of Congress workers clashed in Thoguta of Dommat constituency (Medak district) protesting the absence of Siddipet MP Sarve Satyanarayana’s name in the banners.

His followers were dismayed to notice the name of Rajya Sabha member Nandi Yellaiah in posters at the party’s general body meeting, as a prelude to the Dommat Assembly by-elections.

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