The Hindu (Hyderabad)

AICC Secretary writes to Sonia over Nagarkurno­ol LS seat

- Ravi Reddy

In a first sign of trouble for Congress in Telangana, AICC Secretary Sampath Kumar dashed off a strong letter to former party chief Sonia Gandhi alleging that facts were suppressed while processing the candidate for Nagarkurno­ol parliament­ary constituen­cy SC reserved seat.

In a letter to Ms. Gandhi, he accused a section of Khammam Congress leaders and a few AICC functionar­ies of joining hands to suppress the facts and finalise the name of Dr. Mallu Ravi.

He pointed out that Dr. Ravi had lost the elections from the same constituen­cy four times in the past and belongs to the Mala sub caste among SCs, whose presence in the constituen­cy is negligible. He pointed out that out of the total 17,30,781 voters, Madiga voters constitute­d 3,75,532 while Mala voters were at 62,801.

Mr. Sampath, who aspired for the Nagarkurno­ol ticket, did not mince words to mention that Dr. Ravi has already been accommodat­ed with a Cabinet rank in newlyforme­d Congress Government as the Special Representa­tive in New Delhi.

“Just to satisfy an existing Minister’s brother in Khammam and accommodat­e the existing Deputy Chief Minister’s brother in Nagarkurno­ol, everyone has come together, intentiona­lly ignored facts and reports and done injustice to a hardcore Congress worker,” he wrote in his letter to Ms. Gandhi.

Sampath Kumar

He lamented that when he was busy in Screening Committee meetings of Maharashtr­a as an incharge secretary, leaders had taken advantage of the situation and submitted the single name of Dr. Ravi to the CEC.

The AICC Secretary said that he has been working to strengthen the party for three decades. “I have fought my heart and soul out as an MLA in the Assembly against the BRS government, which made them terminate my membership permanentl­y. Seventeen cases were filed against me by the then government,” he wrote.

Stating that he had travelled across the country on multiple roles as an AICC Secretary and walked the longest with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he reasoned that considerin­g the winnabilit­y and the subcaste justificat­ion among the three reserved seats, the ticket should be given to him. “My significan­ce has been assassinat­ed in front of CEC by these leaders,” he alleged and urged the high command to intervene and render justice.

When contacted, Mr. Sampath Kumar confirmed that he had expressed his anguish to the party high command.

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