TDP Legislators resigned only to save govt from falling: Jeevan Reddy

Alleging that the Telugu Desam Party Legislators from Telangana submitted their resignations not for the sake of Telangana but to save the N Kiran Kumar Reddy government, former minister and senior Congress leader Jeevan Reddy questioned the integrity of the TDP leaders.

Talking to media persons on the Assembly Media Point, the senior leader claimed that the Congress Legislators submitted their resignations from their elected posts to create a Constitutional crisis and build pressure on the High Command to make agree to the separate statehood demand.

“Our reason for submitting our resignation is very valid. But why has the TDP Legislators resigned? Was it because they wanted to save the N Kiran Kumar Reddy government? The government could have fallen if the TDP leaders had not resigned since main opposition party would have been numerically in a position to defeat the government, based on the absence of the Congress Legislators from the House. Why have they resigned?” Mr Jeevan Reddy questioned.

“If the TDP had moved a No Confidence Motion against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government, it (the government) would have surely fallen since it would have fallen into a minority, with the Congress MLAs from Telangana having resigned. The resignations of the TDP MLAs are nothing but a move to protect the Congress government,” the former minister alleged.

He further said that the Bus Yatra, taken out by the TDP Telangana Forum is more or less redundant. “The people will never believe the TDP Telangana Forum Members. The Forum could have achieved more if the same bus had been turned to the residence of party president N Chandrababu Naidu and forced him to give a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, saying that the TDP has no objection to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh,” Mr Jeevan Reddy said.

He reminded that it was a letter written by the TDP chief to member of the Congress Core Committee Pranab Mukherjee highlighting the party’s objections to separate Telangana state that precipitated the present crisis.
“You are saying that Mr Naidu has given you permission to resign, while Seemandhra leaders from your party are claiming that Mr Naidu is in favour of integrated Andhra Pradesh. Leave the ‘two eyes’ theory aside and be sincere in your fight for Telangana,” the former minister advised the TDP leaders.

When asked why he as pressurising the TDP leaders while the Congress itself is a divided house on the separate statehood issue, Mr Jeevan Reddy said that “we are also building pressure on the Congress Legislators who have not yet resigned on the issue to do so.”