On Monday, Bharat Rashtra Samithi announced that they had been suspended by order of party chairman and chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.
UPDATE – Mon Apr 10 23 11:16am
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has suspended ex-minister Jupally Krishna Rao and ex-MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy for anti-party activities.
The party’s central office announced on Monday that they had been suspended by order of party chairman and chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.
The suspension came a day after Krishna Rao joined Srinivas Reddy, who had raised the banner of rebellion against the leadership.
Jupally Krishna Rao attended the Athmeeya Sammelanam program organized by Srinivas Reddy in Kothagudem on Sunday, where he slammed the KCR for what it called the suppression of democratic voices.
Krishna Rao claimed that instead of acting as a trustee of the state government and protecting the people, the KCR government was suppressing democracy.
“People who fought for Telangana statehood were completely marginalized after KCR became chief minister. People suffered under KCR,” said the former minister.
“Sarpanches are concerned because the government has failed to clear outstanding bills, as have contractors who have completed irrigation projects,” he added.
Krishna Rao also claimed that when people questioned KCR about these issues, they were harassed and charged by the police. He pointed out that Kowloon-Canton Railway and his family acted like kings, ignoring the people and their problems.
Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said KCR dreamed of becoming chief minister for the third time, but it was still a dream.
Krishna Rao felt marginalized within the party after MLA Harshvardhan Reddy, who defeated him in the Kollapur constituency of Mahabubnagar district in 2018, switched his allegiance from Congress to TRS (now BRS) following the assembly polls. A few months ago, Krishna Rao had challenged Harshvardhan Reddy to debate on constituency development.
Krishna Rao had resigned from the Congress to join TRS in 2011. He was elected from Kollapur in 2014 on a TRS ticket.
Srinivas Reddy, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Khammam on YSR Congress Party ticket in 2014, later switched loyalties to TRS. He claimed that the TRS leadership made many promises but failed to keep them.
He raised the banner of rebellion after he was not even invited to the Jan. 18 public meeting organized by BRS in Khammam. This is the first meeting of the BRS after the name change.
He recently met YS Sharmila, leader of the YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP), and reports suggest he plans to join the party.
