Seemandhra Cong MPs unite against own party

MPs rally around suspended leaders, promise to support no-confidence motion.

The gloom in the Seemandhra camp on Tuesday after six MPs were suspended by the Congress gave way to belligerence with the suspended MPs along with 13 MPs still in the party deciding to declare war on the Congress and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sending signs of a rebellion brewing.

The CM is learnt to have reached out to around 80 Congress MLAs and 15 Congress MPs in Andhra to seek their support once he resigns.

“The CM, MLAs and MPs will explore options later this week. By suspending us (six MPs), the Congress released us from obligation and loyalty to our party,’’ Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, one of those suspended, said.

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Seemandhra Congress MPs rallied around the suspended MPs promising to support their no-confidence motion against the government, and protest in the Lok Sabha.

After a meeting of Congress MPs at the New Delhi residence of Vundavalli Arun Kumar, they decided to oppose the Telangana Bill even if all of them face suspension.

“We are free of obligation and loyalty to the Congress High Command now. We are not Congress members anymore but are still MPs and will do whatever possible democratically to prevent Telangana Bill,’’ Rao said.

“A no-confidence motion was moved by us and I am issuing a no-confidence motion Wednesday again. We will continue to do so till Parliament session lasts. Our protests may not have any impact on Congress decision to get Telangana Bill passed by hook or crook but we don’t mind going down fighting,” he said.

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“The Congress leadership is forgetting it took a lot of hard work, sacrifice and effort to prepare ground for return of Congress to power in 2004 after defeat in 1984. It is us, MPs and MLAs, who did the hard work. By going ahead with a decision unilaterally, the Congress sidelined our requests not to divide the state. So, it does not matter now whether they suspend or expel us. We are determined to keep the state united, and will fight for it,’’ Sabbam Hari, another suspended MP, said.

When asked about their political future, Rao said, “Our priority is to oppose bifurcation of the state. I think Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will resign on Thursday or Friday. We will collectively decide what to do next. We are sure the Congress party does not have a chance of coming to power in the residual state of Seemandhra in the next 10 years,’’ Sabbam Hari said.

Hari said, “We are ready for any sacrifice to keep the state united. We are with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who has taken a strong stand against bifurcation. The Congress high command suspended us only because other parties, especially BJP, criticised it saying Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh are themselves opposed to Telangana Bill. It does not matter now. After serving the Congress for over 30 years, we have been suspended without a showcause notice, but we feel we have been let go by the Congress party which is a good thing because we were in a fix on whether to leave or not. The party made it easy for us,’’ Hari said.