Congress MP from Telangana Anumula Revanth Reddy, who has been facing intense competition within the party and stiff opposition from seniors on becoming the Pradesh Congress Committee chief, has chosen the time-tested method of undertaking a “padayatra” (foot march) to prove his popularity.
Reddy, who addressed an impressive rally at Atchampet in Nagarkurnool district on Sunday night to protest against the controversial farm laws of the Centre, made an announcement that he would immediately launch a padayatra up to Hyderabad, about 130 km away, to highlight the plight of farmers. He called his walkathon —“Rajiv Rythu Barosa Yatra.”
The Congress MP, who represents Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency, called upon farmers to intensify their agitation till the Centre withdrew the laws and said he would represent their voice in Parliament.
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“My padayatra will be an eye-opener even to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government in the state, which is hand-in-glove with the Centre in implementing the controversial laws in the state,” Reddy, who is presently the working president of the Telangana PCC, said amidst thunderous applause from the people.
On the first day, Reddy, who represents Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency in Hyderabad, walked for nine kilometres along with former MP Mallu Ravi and Congress legislator from Mulugu Dhanasari Anasuya alias Sitakka, besides hundreds of farmers. He made a night halt at a makeshift tent erected on the road side on the Atchampet-Hyderabad highway.
Revanth Reddy Tour
On Monday morning, Reddy continued his walk for a distance of nearly 25 km up to Chintapalli. Along the route, he went into the fields and interacted with farmers on the roadside to understand their problems.
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The Congress MP has chosen to follow the footsteps of former chief ministers of combined Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu, and chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy who undertook marathon foot marches to come to power.
Reddy, a firebrand leader in the Congress with a huge following among the people of Telangana has been the frontrunner for the PCC chief’s post. However, he has been facing stiff competition from the other leaders including former ministers T Jeevan Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy.
Seniors in the Congress like V Hanumantha Rao, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and T Jayaprakash Reddy are strongly resisting Revanth Reddy’s lobbying for the PCC chief’s post. Hanumantha Rao even threatened to resign from the party if Revanth Reddy was made the PCC chief.
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Mallu Ravi, who accompanied the Congress MP on his padayatra, said a majority of Congress leaders and cadre in the state were in favour of making Revanth Reddy the PCC chief.
“We made a representation to the high command to this effect. He has a huge following among the people, which is evident from the turnout at the Achampet rally. If the Congress has to come to power in the state, Revanth Reddy has to be made the PCC chief,” he said.
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