HYDERABAD: The humiliating defeat in the just-concluded byelections in the Telangana and Andhra regions has kept the supporters and critics of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at daggers drawn. While his supporters assert that all is well with Kiran’s leadership, his detractors strongly feel that this is high time for a change in the leadership.Information public relations minister DK Aruna told reporters at the Congress Legislative Party Office on Saturday that the attitude of the so-called senior leaders had damaged the party’s chances in the elections.Defending the chief minister, she said, “Congress leaders are helping other parties with their comments on Kiran Reddy’s leadership. This will not be accepted by the ordinary Congress worker. Senior leaders are not prepared to take any responsibility for the debacle but are criticising the leadership.”The minister wanted all the Congress senior leaders to stand by the party and the government instead of supplying ammunition to opposition parties.Senior leader Mallu Ravi also took strong objection to seniors’ criticism of the chief minister and advised them to air their views not in public but at party meetings.Sarve Satyanarayana, MP, said, “They (some senior leaders) are working with a hidden personal political agenda. That explains their demand for change of leadership in the state. By doing so they are only implementing the political agendas of Telugu Desam president N Chandrababau Naidu, YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao in true sprit. I will disclose the names of such leaders at an appropriate time.”Giving clean chit to chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Satyanarayana said Kiran Reddy was ruling the state on the lines of prime Minister Manmohan Singh.He said a section of leaders was making efforts to have chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy replaced but the party high command rejected their demand. He said any change of leadership would occur only after state’s bifurcation and hoped that the Congress high command would resolve the Telangana tangle before the 2014 general election.“There is no leader in Telangana for chief minister’s post and Kiran Reddy is the only one acceptable to people of all the regions,’’ Satyanarayana said and wondered why Telangana senior Congress leaders had not worked for the party in the byelections but were demanding a change in leadership of the government."It is ethically and morally wrong,” he remarked.MLAs K Laxma Reddy and Jogi Ramesh and several others also took objection to party senior leaders’ uncharitable comments against Kiarn Kumar Reddy, and urged the party leadership to take a decision on Telangana one way or the other.But senior MLA and former minister P Shankar Rao reiterated his demand that Kiran Kumar Reddy and Botcha Satyanarayana quit their posts and give a chance to the party high command to cleanse the party and the government.MLC Yadava Reddy and and KR Amos also criticised the party’s state leadership and said Kiran Kumar Reddy did not involve Telangana Congress leaders in the bypoll campaigning.
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