Hyderabad: Former minister and Congress MLA Konda Surekha on Sunday dismissed reports that she and her husband Konda Murali were planning to join another political party, terming the speculation as baseless and false.
Surekha said she and Murali had switched parties in the past due to circumstances but had never indulged in the practice of winning on one party’s ticket and defecting to another. She also claimed that the party high command had not actually intended to remove her from the cabinet and revealed that she had recently received calls from party leaders indicating that a position could be offered to her husband, Konda Murali.
Addressing a meeting of her supporters and Congress workers in Warangal, Surekha said she was “born into the Congress party” and would continue to remain with it. She said she was not upset over being dropped from the state cabinet but was hurt by the fact that she was removed without a valid reason. Surekha said political posts were temporary and described a position as merely an “ornament”. Recalling her political journey from MPP to minister, she said she would continue to work among the people. Expressing confidence that she would win the Warangal East assembly constituency on a Congress ticket, Surekha said she would return to the cabinet in the future. She recalled her association with chief minister Revanth Reddy ’s padayatra and said she was the first person to speak during the march. Surekha thanked party workers and supporters for standing by her and said she had advised them against any confrontation when she was removed from the cabinet.
She asserted that she had discharged her responsibilities as a minister without indulging in corruption. She also predicted that Congress would win a large number of divisions in the upcoming Warangal Municipal Corporation elections. She recalled resigning from her ministerial position out of loyalty to former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
