Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

No panic in TD over resignation

-Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

ACKNOWLEDGING SUPPORT: T. Devender Goud waving to his supporters who came to meet him at his Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on Monday.

HYDERABAD: Tulla Devender Goud caused ripples in the TDP and brought the separate Telangana issue once again to the centrestage through his resignation but could not attract support for his cause to the extent he would have wished.

There was no panic in the Telugu Desam ranks and its president N. Chandrababu Naidu was not too surprised by the resignation of his deputy and that of E. Peddi Reddy. Mr. Goud indeed received vocal and moral support from other party leaders like Ch. Rajeshwara Rao, Kadiam Srihari and Gutta Sukhender Reddy but they chose to keep their future plans under wraps.

The TDP supremo’s cool reaction appeared quite in order since Mr. Devender Goud’s actions in the past were enough pointers that he would ultimately part company. His padayatra in Telangana districts demanding expeditious completion of the Pranahita-Chevella project and the Yadagirigutta conclave left none in doubt that he was sore with the TDP’s reluctance to adopt a more strident approach on the statehood issue.

He was visibly upset at being isolated at the maiden meeting of the party’s core committee held at Devupalli in Vizianagaram district last week. Mr. Goud felt cornered by other members of the five-man committee, particularly K. Yerran Naidu and Y. Ramakrishnudu who opposed any dilution of the party’s avowed stand favouring an integrated State. The last straw was the attack on him by Secunderabad MLA T. Srinivas Yadav daring him to pursue his agenda after quitting the party.

What will be watched now is how the platform he plans to launch shapes up. This will determine whether Telangana protagonists from not merely the TDP but also from other parties rally behind him. If his plans bear fruit, his will be the second offshoot of the Telugu Desam dedicated solely for the cause of Telangana and present an alternative to its older sibling - K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Mr. Goud’s resignation may rekindle the pro-Telangana activity in the Congress that has become dormant after the byelections. Congress seniors would like to leverage the situation to show to their high command that the echo of the Telangana sentiment was tormenting even “a disciplined party” like the Telugu Desam.

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