Cong leaders do not trust their party, says Telangana minister on 12 Cong MLAs defecting to TRS

As many as 12 out of 18 MLAs of the Congress on Thursday joined the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS), state minister Talas Srinivas Yadav, stated that the Congress MLAs do not trust their party leadership.

Yadav, said, "This is very much common in the democracy. In the year 2004 when 18 members of TRS won, they (Congress) took away 12 of them into their party. Now talking of all this, you can see what's happening in West Bengal, elected MLAs and elected corporates joined BJP party. So before blaming someone with some sort of allegations, just think of what you (Congress) have done in the past."

Yadav further said, "The Congress MLAs say that "Congress party's leadership is not up to the mark, we work under the same group of members every time, so we don't want it. The public elected us for their development and welfare. This can't be achieved if we are under Congress leadership, If we go with the TRS orders then development can be witnessed. Now how can you say that this is illegal? Why wasn't the same, illegal when you did the same to the TRS in the past. How can you say that this is against democracy. This is what you have done in the past. You must have thought of all this in the past. They don't want to work under your leadership, so collectively they spoke to the speaker and they came to the right party to serve people," he added.

If the defection is completed then the Congress party will be reduced to 6 MLAs while AIMIM has 7 MLAs. This development will lead to Congress losing opposition status in the state assembly.

This becomes a possibility after Uttam Kumar Reddy submitted his resignation as an MLA from Huzurnagar Assembly constituency after being elected as MP from Nalgonda Parliamentary Constituency. Now Congress has 6 MLAs, while AIMIM has 7.

Hitting out at Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for the political crisis in the Congress party, Uttam Kumar Reddy, TPCC Chief said, "KCR from the time he has become the Chief Minister in 2014 has got used to and purchasing of MLAs. Each time we submitted disqualifying petition to the Telangana Speaker, each of the defected MLAs should be disqualified at that time only, but the Speaker kept our petitions pending and kept it with himself and the TRS party has purchased our 12 MLAs and today these MLAs has said that they held a CLP meeting."

He added, "The defected MLAs cannot hold the CLP meeting without my permission as party president. This merger is completely illegal."

BJP state president Dr Laxman said, "After the formation of new Telangana state the politics have taken a different shape. The ruling TRS party made politics a costly affair. People with money and disproportionate asset are entering politics particularly in the ruling party."

"Defections have become a common phenomenon in Telangana and surprisingly wholesale defections are taking place. I failed to understand why TRS is encouraging it despite have a clear majority. Except for BJP, all parties MLA defect," he added.

Laxman further said, "As TRS said defection took place in Andhra Pradesh earlier. Now I say Congress was doing mass defection then, while TRS is doing it now. I feel these defections, keeping in mind the loopholes and lacuna in law they are taking the advantage...Some moral values need to be followed in politics. Now people are looking towards Telangana where mass defections and mergers of the entire legislature party takes place."

"The elections have become costly in Telangana, there is so much of expenses even in local body elections under the TRS government. The ruling TRS party in the name of irrigation projects making and swindling money and spending on electoral politics. This should be put to an end. People are real judges now they should teach a lesson to the party which has no moral value," he added.

V Hanumanth Rao, Senior Congress Leader, speaking to said, TRS is purchasing the MLAs of Congress like they purchase goats. The members of the Congress are protesting inside the Assemble gates. The reason for all this is very simple, KCR is afraid of the opposition. He knew that Congress is going to be a problem for him and the party. So that is why he is creating all the drama. Till now 12 MLAs have defected the Congress party and joined TRS. They don't belong in Congress any more.

Earlier today, Congress leaders who defected protested outside the state assembly demanding to meet the state assembly Speaker. They were taken into preventive custody to Tappachabuthra police station. The leaders were released after some time after which they met Telangana assembly Speaker.

( With inputs from ANI )