Senior Congress leader G Venkataswamy, better known as ‘Kaka’ on Saturday blamed unnamed ‘influential’ persons for his name being dropped from the list of Congress Working Committee members, which was reconstituted on Friday.
Mr Venkataswamy told media persons at his residence that though he was conspired against, he still welcomed his removal from the CWC. He also stated that the reason behind his removal from the CWC could be the fears that he might bring the separate statehood demand before the party’s decision making body again.
He stated that though he was happy at being relieved of his responsibilities but was sad that his junior colleague K Keshav Rao was dropped too. The senior leader said that the Congress must take remedial steps to ensure that the state gets proper representation at the party’s decision making body.
He also demanded that the party High Command must take a favourable decision on the separate statehood demand ‘immediately’, since the issue cannot be sidelined this time around. Mr Venkataswamy said that if the party dillydallies on the Telangana statehood demand further, the region would resemble Egypt, where the popular upsurge against Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade-old rule unseated him.
The senior leader, whose tirade against Congress president Sonia Gandhi on February 1 is largely seen to be the reason behind his ouster from the CWC, said that he would not hesitate to raise his voice against the AICC chief, but at an ‘appropriate time’.