Congress chief Kharge to review performance of Telangana government

Hyderabad, July 3 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will be addressing a meeting of the party’s grassroots workers in Hyderabad on Friday and will also review the performance of the Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government during the last 18 months.

Kharge, who landed in the state on Thursday, will be addressing 15,000 grassroots workers at the LB Stadium as part of the "Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan" movement.

He will also have meetings with the party’s state leadership at Gandhi Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters.

The meetings of the party's Telangana unit and Political Affairs Committee (PAC) are scheduled during Kharge’s visit. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, party in-charge Meenakshi Natrajan, state Congress President Mahesh Kumar Goud, state ministers and senior leaders will attend the key meetings.

Kharge is likely to review the performance of the Congress government in the last 18 months.

He will also discuss issues like caste census, enhancement of reservation for backward classes and implementation of Scheduled Caste categorisation.

The meeting at LB Stadium may mark the launch of the ruling party’s campaign for the forthcoming local body elections.

The Telangana High Court recently directed the government to conduct panchayat elections in three months.

The state government and the State Election Commission are likely to decide the poll schedule after finalising reservation for the backward classes.

The High Court passed orders on the petitions by former sarpanches, who questioned the delay in conducting the elections.

They pointed out that the terms of the panchayats expired on January 31, 2024, and the elections were already delayed by 18 months.

Deputy Chief Minister Vikramarka, other ministers and state chief Goud reviewed the arrangements for the meeting at the LB Stadium.

The Congress chief's visit also assumes significance in the wake of some recent developments in the party.

A few party MLAs publicly expressed unhappiness over being ignored in the Cabinet expansion last month.

Some MLAs have also made allegations against ministers and complained of a lack of coordination between the government and the party.

The infighting in the ruling party in the united Warangal district may also come up for discussion during Kharge’s visit. Certain remarks made by Fores and Endowments Minister Konda Surekha’s husband, Konda Murali, against some MLAs, MPs and other leaders of the party in Warangal district have triggered a row in the party.

The Konda couple on Thursday met Natrajan and gave her a report on the happenings in the party.

They also reportedly complained against Revenue Minister P. Srinivas Reddy, who is the in-charge minister for Warangal district.

The couple defended the political ambition of their daughter, who is said to be keen to contest the next Assembly elections from Prakal constituency in Warangal.

--IANS

ms/vd