Telangana Congress Crisis: Senior Leaders Postponed Meeting After High-Command's Intervention

AICC leader Digvijay Singh telephoned former MLA Maheshwar Reddy on Tuesday and asked him to cancel the meeting of senior leaders scheduled at his residence

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Telangana Pradesh Congress Party (TPCC) senior leaders postponed their proposed meeting as part of the Save Congress movement on Tuesday following intervention by the central leadership of the party.

According to an IANS report, All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader Digvijay Singh telephoned former MLA Maheshwar Reddy on Tuesday and asked him to cancel the meeting of senior leaders scheduled at his residence later in the day. The central leader told him that if there are any issues, they will be sorted out by the central leadership through talks. Singh asked Maheshwar Reddy to convey the same to all seniors.

Maheshwar Reddy told reporters that Digvijay Singh informed him that he would soon visit Hyderabad to speak to all leaders and prepare a report. "Since a senior leader like Mr. Digvijay Singh has intervened and assured that he will hold talks with all and sort out the issue, we have decided to postpone the meeting," Reddy said.

The former MLAs welcomed the intervention by the AICC and hoped that the issues raised by them would be addressed. Responding to a query, he said the senior leaders have no demands. "We just want to save the Congress party, and we're going forward with the Save Congress slogan," he said.

Maheshwar Reddy said the leaders and workers who have been working for the party with commitment and dedication to its principles for the last 40 years want justice done to them.

"It's our internal matter," he quipped when asked if the seniors would submit a report to Digvijay Singh. He also denied that some senior leaders have met with the state BJP president Bandi Sanjay.

A group of senior leaders had met on December 17 and decided to launch the Save Congress movement in what is seen as a revolt against TPCC president A Revanth Reddy. They alleged that the leaders who migrated to the Congress party from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were given priority in the newly constituted state body.

Senior party leaders, who have been in the party from the start of their respective political careers, declared that they are launching the "Save Congress in Telangana' movement to protect the party from what they described as a leader who came into the Congress after shifting loyalties from party to party.

This was a direct attack on Revanth Reddy, who had come to the party from the TDP in 2017.

The crisis deepened the next day when 13 leaders who had defected to the party from the TDP in the past and were considered loyal to Revanth Reddy announced their resignations from their party posts.

(With IANS inputs)