Telangana: Cong' Palvai Sravanthi quits party, blames "commercialisation"

HYDERABAD: In a blow to the Congress party ahead of the Telangana polls, Congress leader and spokesperson Palvai Sravanthi on Saturday announced that she is quitting the party in all capacities with immediate effect.

Sravanthi said she had waited for a long period, with a hope that the leaders sitting in Delhi would act on the "collateral damage" the party was suffering in Telangana, thanks to "one person's attempts" to turn the party into a "commercial" entity.

In a strong attack on Revanth Reddy, Komati Reddy, and Rajagopal Reddy, Sravanthi said that ever since Revanth was imported into the party, he had been scripting its end and nullifying the values and principals that the party stood for.

"It is highly deplorable how Rajagopala Reddy, who was responsible for Munugode by poll and who was crying foul against Revanth was overnight accepted back and was given a ticket," Sravanthi said.

Earlier in a letter to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Sravanthi had written, "This brings me to a moment that I had never dreamt of, would dawn in my life and in my political career when I had to bid goodbye to the party that I regarded more than anything in my life."

Sravanthi said that the Telangana Congress is not the same as it used to be earlier.

Sravanthi alleged that the party has turned into a commercial organization and a profit-making entity.

"I can assert that the party's original persona in my state has been completely mutilated, and in its place, we see a commercial organization and a profit-making entity that ensures the party goes against the grain at every stage," she said.

Sravanthi said that the party did not follow the Udaipur Declaration and those who deserved tickets were denied.

"The Udaipur Declaration was dumped down the drain, where 'one ticket for one family' was the core decision. The AICC resolution which said that those who contested in by-elections should be given the preference, was also ignored," she said.

Sharpening her attack against Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy, Sravanthi said, "Today, the party stands at a serious juncture of survival and existence, where your selfless leadership, coupled with Shri Rahul Gandhi's inspiring Bharat Jodo Yatra, are thoroughly nullified by one person who is helming the party affairs in Telangana."

Pointing out that she sees no future for the party in Telangana, she said, "I see no future for the party in the state, and I see that every sincere and earnest endeavour by Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge will only be neutralized and defeated by these dealmakers in the party."

Thanking the Congress leadership for the opportunities bestowed on her, she wished the Gandhis to step in to control the damage in the State and fix the "chronic disorders" in the party.

Telangana will go to polls in a single phase on November 30. The counting of votes for Telangana, along with those of four other poll-bound states, has been scheduled for December 3.