Telangana CM faces internal discord amid removal of two leaders

Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy faces a politically testing phase as dissent within the ruling Congress grows, with the removal of two leaders and increasingly open criticism raising questions over his authority in the party and government.The Revanth Reddy government recently completed 1,000 days in office. (ANI)The disquiet was evident on September 1, when the Revanth Reddy government completed 1,000 days in office. The attention was focused on the impending removal of environment and forests minister Konda Surekha.The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee had recommended disciplinary action against Surekha for violating party discipline. The All-India Congress Committee (AICC) subsequently approved the action, following which Reddy removed her from the cabinet two days later.Former minister G Chinna Reddy was also recently removed as vice-chairman of the Telangana State Planning Board, a cabinet-rank post.Also Read I Telangana CM Revanth Reddy sacks forest minister Konda SurekhaThe triggersSurekha was held responsible for her daughter Konda Sushmita’s disparaging remarks against the party in general and the chief minister in particular. Chinna Reddy was removed after allegedly accusing the state Congress leadership of selling tickets in the last assembly elections, particularly in Wanaparthy constituency, which he had represented in the past.The action against the two leaders has brought Reddy’s handling of factional tensions into focus. Disciplinary action against a serving minister and a former minister holding a cabinet-rank post has underscored the increasingly open nature of the internal friction.Questioning the action against her over statements made by her daughter, Surekha also raised allegations of corruption involving Reddy’s brothers that Sushmita had made days earlier.Chinna Reddy, however, said he was not upset about losing his planning board position.“I did not meet Revanth Reddy to give an explanation. If I worked hard to reach this position, they brought it down with a single stroke,” he said.He maintained that he had never made personal allegations against anyone and had only spoken about issues brought to his notice by party workers. “Whether I have a position or not, I have my dignity,” he said, adding that he had not yet decided on his future course of action.Fault lines deepenThe rumblings began after Reddy became chief minister in December 2023, bypassing senior leaders including N Uttam Kumar Reddy, K Jana Reddy, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, T Jayaprakash Reddy and D Sridhar Babu.“The main reason for the discontent is that Revanth Reddy is a newcomer to the Congress – he joined the party in 2018, directly from the Telugu Desam Party and went on to become the PCC chief and then the chief minister. But they could not openly revolt, as he was the choice of the Congress high command,” political analyst Srinivasa Rao Manchala said.Also Read I Telangana rising: Hyderabad to host offshore campuses of University of London, Northeastern UniversityCongress MLA from Munugode Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy has also questioned Reddy’s authority.“It hurts when individuals with no original roots in the Congress party or the Telangana statehood agitation are wielding state power,” he said at a meeting in Munugode on Wednesday.He also criticised Reddy for publicly claiming that he would continue as chief minister for another 10 years.