Expelled Shashidhar Reddy quits Congress

Hyderabad: In a setback to the Congress in Telangana, senior party leader and former minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy, son of former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh Marri Channa Reddy, quit the party on Tuesday.

Shashidhar Reddy, who had been a loyal Congressman for several decades and even headed a 'Congress Loyalists Forum' of Telangana Congress leaders, sent his resignation to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.

He addressed a letter to top leader Sonia Gandhi explaining the reasons for his resignation.

In the letter, he wrote about the allegedly growing influence of money in party affairs, its failure in effectively taking on the ruling TRS in Telangana and the poor functioning of AICC in-charges and PCC presidents.

Recalling the long association he and his late father have had with the Congress since the party's election symbol was a "pair of bullocks" followed by "cow and calf" in the 1960s, he said it was on the advice of his father that later Indira Gandhi had opted for the "hand" symbol.

He alleged that the influence of money was growing in the party affairs.

"They (the AICC in-charges) have consistently failed to function as representatives of the high command and were playing along to promote the personal agenda of successive PCC presidents and failed to protect the party's interest. So much so, it is impossible to believe that money has not been a driving force," he said in the letter to Sonia Gandhi.

"There are enough instances that give credence to suspicions that it was not just the AICC in-charge of Telangana, Manickam Tagore, who has been the recipient of largesse from PCC president Revanth Reddy, but also KC Venugopal, the key AICC General Secretary (Organisation). I am saying this with all responsibility, though I have not not seen money being exchanged between them," he said.