Rajgopal Reddy to embark on Padayatra to strengthen BJP

PNS|Nalgonda

BJP leader Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy on Friday said that he would embark on a padayatra (walkathon) from Surypet to strengthen the party in the State. He described the by-poll in Munugode Assembly constituency as ‘unprecedented’ in the history of elections held so far. He faced defeat at the hands of the TRS candidate K Prabhakar Reddy in the by-poll, the result of which was announced on November 6.

Speaking to the media here, Rajgopal Reddy said that the by-poll held in Munugode mirrored a war. What was witnessed in Munugode was not the dharma-yuddh. The Chief Minister and the TRS leader had transformed the contest in the by-poll into ‘adharm yudh,’ he felt. The TRS scraped through the by-poll ‘misusing official machinery.’ The TRS had deployed 150 people representatives in the constituency and exerted pressure on the people.

Rajgopal Reddy claimed that the by-poll verdict was a ‘moral victory’ for him. Despite the ruling party misusing the official machinery and the Ministers and MLAs descending on the constituency, he was able to secure a good number of votes, he said. ‘The war that began in Munugode will continue till the TRS government is pulled down,’ he said, and added that he would remain inactive because of defeat in the by-poll.

In the run up to the by-poll, the government had credited Rs 1.58 lakh each to the accounts of 7,600 Golla Kurama beneficiaries and then froze their accounts. The leaders had spread the falsehood that the BJP was responsible for freezing the accounts, he said. Now, the government insisted that it would distribute sheep to the beneficiaries and it would credit the money in the accounts of beneficiaries. ‘We are opposed to this proposal,’ he said.

He demanded that the government release funds for developmental activities and establish a junior college in Chandur. He also demanded that the government fulfil its promise to provide water for irrigation to 50,000 acres in the constituency.