Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

APCC chief counters charge of party ticket sale

HYDERABAD: In a strong rebuttal of charges of sale of party tickets in the last elections, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president D. Srinivas said on Wednesday that the party would not have come back to power if he had indulged in such an act.

Taking a serious view of the allegations hurled by senior party leaders P. Shiv Shankar, P. Upendra and Gnanendra Reddy, the APCC chief asked what prevented these leaders from speaking out earlier. Stating that such charges were made only to derive mileage, Mr. Srinivas said that more number of young leaders were emerging in the party and there was need to recognise their talent. Anyone unhappy with the party were welcome to leave, he said at a press conference.

On Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao’s claim that statehood was only a week away, he said he was not the right person to comment about such a sensitive issue. “I can only say that the Congress will come out with its decision before elections. The stand could be in favour of the statehood or against it also,” he said.

Asked about the TRS chief’s proposal of an alliance with the Congress, Mr. Srinivas reiterated his stand that the doors of his party were always open for old friends. “The question of alliance comes just before elections. It is too early to talk about poll tie-up. We are ready for alliance with other parties, barring the TDP and the BJP,” he added.

He dismissed Praja Rajyam’s allegation of phone and fax tapping. “Tapping, if any, has to be done by a Central agency. What role will the State government have in such an issue,” he said and wondered why PR leaders were not looking into the leakage of the video footage of party chief Chiranjeevi and the letter written by Ch. Harirama Jogaiah.

Mr. Srinivas said that it was not proper on the part of PR party to strapflags on private buildings without seeking prior permission.

“In a place like Pulivendula, it is always better for the political parties not to indulge in provocative action,” he said in response to a query on the alleged vandalism by the Congress workers, who damaged vehicles of PR leaders in Pulivendula, a day ahead of Chiranjeevi’s visit to Kadapa district.

“For every action there is a reaction,” he said wondering what led to the unsavoury incident. APCC spokesperson N. Tulasi Reddy, in a statement, here said PR leaders were trying to lower the image of the Chief Minister by raking up the issue of attack . He said when the Kadapa MP Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy had personally assured them of full support to their leader’s visit, some PR workers got into an argument with the locals resulting in a tense situation. He said Tuesday’s incident was a drama enacted to derive political mileage by showing the Congress in bad light.

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