Chief of Telangana Congress minority wing resigns

Hyderabad, Oct 29: Shaik Abdullah Sohail resigned on Saturday as the chairman of the minorities department of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), alleging ‘sale’ of tickets to outsiders for next month’s Assembly elections and ‘communalisation’ of the party in the state.

In a letter to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sohail wrote that he is ending his 34-year-long association with the Congress with pain.

Sohail wrote that the last two-and-a-half years were extremely painful for him as the Congress compromised its ideals just to come to power.

He said that it is unfortunate for him to work under the leadership of "TPCC President and former Sangh Parivar activist A. Revanth Reddy".

He also alleged that Revanth Reddy turned the party into a grocery shop where people with heavy wallets could walk in and purchase any post.

Sohail said that unfortunately the central leadership of the party remained ignorant and allowed an "RSS agent to sabotage the entire party in two years".

He added that he is not a ticket aspirant but the distribution of tickets caused him immense pain as party leaders working hard for decades in their constituencies have been ignored and those who paratrooped with heavy bags of cash have been given tickets.

He said that OBC department chairman Nuthi Srikanth Goud was once again ignored for ticket from Amberpet while an outsider - Shaikh Akbar - was given a ticket in Malakpet.

He also referred to denial of ticket to P. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy from Jubilee Hills, where the party has fielded former India cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin.

Sohail predicted that all the candidates who enjoy the backing of Revanth Reddy, if elected, will join the BJP under his leadership.

He also alleged that Revanth Reddy targeted the Muslim leadership in the party and discouraged minority-related programmes.

Sohail predicted that the TPCC President will not allow a single Muslim leader to win in the elections.

“We don’t want to create another Narasimha Rao by supporting an RSS-minded President,” he wrote, referring to the former Prime Minister.