TPCC President Uttam predicts KCR's rule will end in next elections

Hyderabad: N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, the president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), said there were indications that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao would prefer the Assembly polls to be held early, in Dece-mber this year, and that it would be the end of the TRS rule. However, he did not reveal the source of his information.

Mr Reddy said the Congress was set to come to power, whenever the elections were held. He said the upcoming Budget Session would be the TRS’ last because the next Budget would be presented by the Congress.

Speaking to newsmen at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday, Mr Reddy said the Praja Chaitanya Yatra being taken out by senior Congress leaders in the state on February 26 wou-ld kick-start the Congress party’s election campaign. He said the yatra had the blessings and the appro-val of Rahul Gandhi, the president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), and quashed any notions that it was being organised without consultation with senior party leaders.

Mr Reddy said the members of the Congress wou-ld be joined by the leaders of several different parties during the bus yatra. He said that all those who were appointed presidents of the District Congress Committees would not contest the elections, in keeping with the directions issued by the AICC.

He criticised the Chief Minister for completely surrendering to the Centre and not raising his voice when Telangana was given a raw deal in the Union Budget. He said the Rajya Sabha had passed the historic bifurcation bill exactly four years ago, but the Chief Minister had failed to put pressure on the Central government to implement the promises made to the state at the time of bifurcation.