Digvijay Singh blames Speaker for defections

AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh has strongly condemned Telangana Assembly Speaker S. Madhusudan Chary for delaying the decision against MLAs who defected to ruling party.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan after participating in TPCC Coordination Committee meeting here on Wednesday, Digvijay Singh alleged that the Speaker deliberately delayed the decision on disqualification petitions lodged by the opposition parties. The inaction by the Speaker encouraged more legislators to violate the Anti-Defection Law and they joined the TRS.

Digvijay Singh said that the Congress party would approach the Court, Election Commission of India and all political parties on this issue. He said that the relevant laws need immediate amendment and a time-frame should be fixed for the Speaker to decide on Disqualification Petitions. Further, he said that the Congress party would approach the people against these illegal defections. He accused Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of turning politics into trading wherein he was giving big contracts to legislators who are joining TRS.

He also informed that the Congress would constitute an Expert Committee to review all the projects of TRS Government wherein costs have been escalated by several times to benefit contractors and gain commissions. He also accused the TRS Government of playing the role of a middle-man in acquiring farmers' land for private parties. He said that the TRS Government was snatching the livelihood of farmers in the name of different projects. He said most of the victims of forced land acquisition were SC and ST families.

Digvijay Singh also claimed that the Congress party was very strong in Telangana and no changes were required in party's structure. However, he admitted that the Congress party has failed to highlight its achievements in the past and it would now work with a different strategy to win the mass support.

TPCC President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Working President Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Leaders of Opposition K. Jana Reddy and Mohammed Ali Shabbir, SC Cell Chairman Koppula Raju and TPCC Vice-President Dr. Mallu Ravi were also present.