More troubles for Cong, two-third MLAs in T'gana seek merger with TRS, Sidhu targets Amarinder

In mounting troubles for the Congress after the Lok Sabha debacle, two-third of its 18 MLAs in Telangana Thursday sought merger of their group with the ruling TRS while a defiant Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu fired a fresh salvo at Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and skipped a key Cabinet meeting.

With barely few months left for Haryana Assembly polls, a rift within the state unit of the Congress also came to the fore as some MLAs loyal to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda trained their guns at state chief Ashok Tanwar for the poor showing in the state in the parliamentary elections.

 

There is already disquiet within the Congress unit in Rajasthan, where a blame game over the party's rout in the desert state has begun between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot.

Similar reports are also coming from Madhya Pradesh, where the ruling Congress is struggling to keep its flock together and save its government, which is being run with the support of the BSP and independents.

The unease in Gujarat Congress is also growing amid speculation that some of its MLAs may join the saffron camp.

Cracks in the ruling Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition in Karnataka have also surfaced amid reports some MLAs may desert the alliance and join the BJP.

In Hyderabad, a dozen Congress MLAs met Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and gave him a representation for merging their group with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) after Tandur MLA Rohith Reddy became the 12th party legislator to jump the ship, boosting the strength of the defectors to two-third of the state Congress Legislature Party(CLP).

According to the Tenth Schedule, it requires at least two-third members of a legislature party to form a new political group, or 'merge' with another political party without getting disqualified under the anti-defection law.

Since early March, as many as 11 Congress MLAs had switched sides though officially they did not resign before Rohith Reddy moved over to the ruling camp Thursday.

The Congress strength in the 119-member House came down to 18 after Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President N Uttam Kumar Reddy tendered his resignation from the Assembly following his election to the Lok Sabha from Nalgonda.

"This is completely illegal. KCR (TRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) is cheating the mandate of the people of Telangana," Uttam Kumar Reddy told PTI, as he held protests on the Assembly premises along with CLP leader M Bhatti Vikramarka, and senior party leaders, following the move by the defectors.

Rohith Reddy earlier in the day met KCR's son KT Rama Rao and pledged his loyalty to the ruling party.

Senior Congress legislator Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy told reporters that the 12 MLAs decided to work with the chief minister for the "development of the State."

"We held a special meeting of Congress Legislature Party. All the 12 members support the leadership of Chief Minister KCR and requested to work with him. We gave a representation to the Speaker and urged him to merge us with the TRS party," Ramana Reddy said.

While the Congress watched the move by the defectors to desert the party in the southern state, a high voltage drama was being played out in the Punjab unit of the Congress.

Under fire from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who blamed him for the party's poor performance in urban areas in Punjab during the Lok Sabha polls, Navjot Singh Sidhu stayed away from the cabinet meeting and said he cannot be taken for granted as he had been a performer throughout.

The first cabinet meeting after the recently held elections was chaired by Amarinder Singh.

Asserting that his local government department was singled out publicly, Sidhu said he would defend his name, credibility and performance fiercely.

I cannot be taken for granted. With utter humility I will say that I have been a performer throughout in my life, be it international cricket, or world class commentary with Geoffrey Boycott, TV shows going superhit or 1,300 motivational talks, Sidhu told a select media briefing in Chandigarh.

The cricketer-turned-politician further lamented that his department was singled out while reiterating that it was always a collective responsibility.

Referring to past cabinet meetings, Sidhu said his chair may be three inches away from CM's chair but it seems I am too far from him and (Amarinder) lacks faith in me".

My department is singled out publicly. I always regard him (CM) as my elder. But my department is singled out. It is hurting and now where is the collective responsibility? He (Amarinder) could have called me and said to me whatever he wanted to say. But I was singled out inspite of collective responsibility, Sidhu said.