Senior Telangana leader Jeevan Reddy quits Congress

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and former minister T. Jeevan Reddy resigned from the party on Wednesday, saying he had no other choice after facing humiliation despite working selflessly for more than four decades.

At a meeting with the party workers and followers in Jagtial town, he announced his resignation, ending his 42-year-long association with the party.

Though Congress leadership made all efforts to persuade Jeevan Reddy to withdraw his decision to quit, he went ahead with his plans by sending a resignation letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Jeevan Reddy told his supporters that he had no other option but to quit after suffering humiliation. He accused the party leadership of encouraging 10 MLAs who defected from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) while ignoring the leaders and cadres loyal to the party.

Jeevan Reddy criticised Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and other party leaders. He remarked that Revanth Reddy became Chief Minister due to the hard work of party cadres.

He recalled that he had written a letter in October 2024, highlighting the problems in the party, but no measures were taken to address them.

Referring to the murder of his follower Ganga Reddy, he said the Chief Minister did not even console the family of the victim.

He vowed to fight against the Chief Minister. He, however, did not reveal his future course of action.

Jeevan Reddy on Sunday decided to resign from the Congress party, attributing his decision to what he called ‘growing interference’ of the ‘defected’ MLAs in party affairs. He also warned that the impact of defections in Telangana will dent the image of the Congress at the national level.

“Respect is above everything and in its absence, there is no meaning in continuing in politics,” he said.

Jeevan Reddy accused Jagtial MLA M. Sanjay Kumar of undermining the interests of the loyal Congress cadre in the district. He alleged that loyal Congress workers, who brought the party to power by toiling hard, were neglected.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Kumar Goud and some other leaders had met Jeevan Reddy in Jagtial on Tuesday to persuade him to reconsider his decision.

Mahesh Kumar Goud had stated that Jeevan Reddy has a long political career and vast experience, and TPCC and AICC can’t let him go.

He admitted Jeevan Reddy felt hurt due to some decisions taken by the party.

In an open letter addressed to the Congress cadre on Sunday, Jeevan Reddy stated that it has become intolerable to continue with the Congress party amid insults and mental agony.

Jeevan Reddy has been locked in a bitter fight with Sanjay Kumar, who is one of the 10 MLAs of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) who switched loyalties to the Congress party in 2024.

Jeevan Reddy, who was defeated by Sanjay Kumar in the Jagtial constituency in the 2023 elections, has openly defied the party leadership for inducting him into the party.

The Telangana Assembly Speaker has dismissed petitions for the disqualification of all 10 MLAs.

Recently, the infighting in the Congress party in Jagtial district came into the open when Jeevan Reddy expressed anger over the allotment of more party tickets for municipal elections to Sanjay Kumar’s group.

IANS