Pressure mounts for action against rebels

HYDERABAD: Pressure is building on the state Congress leadership to take action against the rebel MLAs for defying the party’s whip and voting in favour of the no-confidence motion moved against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in the Assembly on December 5. Even some of the senior ministers told the chief minister on Wednesday to disqualify the rebel MLAs.However, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and APCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana were cautious in their approach and are looking at the Central leadership before taking a decision on the issue. It is learnt that the state leadership is apprehensive of the bypoll outcome following disqualification of 17 rebel MLAs who included 16 Congress and one PRP.It is learnt that the state party leadership will soon direct the Congress legislature party to lodge a complaint to the Assembly Speaker seeking disqualification of its rebel MLAs. It will also tell Chiranjeevi, who had merged his party with the Congress, to see that a complaint was filed seeking disqualification of rebel PRP legislator B Shobha Nagi Reddy.Several senior Congress leaders wants the party leadership to take immediate action, including suspension, against the rebel MLAs and to promote second rung leaders to face the byelections.They also wanted that action to be taken against all the rebels at one go.Former minister and senior leader Gade Venkat Reddy stressed the need of filing a complaint before the Speaker within 15 days seeking disqualification of all rebel MLAs. Congress party’s image would be affected and would send wrong signals if no action is taken against the rebels, he observed.Meanwhile in New Delhi, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao also favoured action against the rebels.AICC secretary P Sudhakar Reddy also stressed the need for disqualifying the rebels.MLC R Padma Raju opined the Congress party should fight and win byelections by highlighting various welfare programmes of the government.The present situation would not have arised if the party had taken disciplinary action against the MLAs who had extended loyalty to Jagan, he remarked.