Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday, 16 December, sparking speculation that the Congress MP is moving closer to the BJP.
Speaking to reporters later, Venkat Reddy refused to divulge the issues discussed during the 20-minute meeting. The Congress leader said he would talk politics on the eve of the elections. He added that would then reveal which party he would represent.
Venkat Reddy also retained suspense over whether he would be contesting to the Lok Sabha or Assembly, saying that he would speak of it later.
The lawmaker, however, said he raised the issue of cleaning the Musi river and widening the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway to six lanes with the Prime Minister. The highway passes through Venkat Reddy’s constituency, Bhongir, officially known as Bhuvanagiri.
The MP said he also sought a ropeway to Bhongir Fort and an extension of MMTS (Multi-Modal Transport System) to Bhongir.
Also read: Congress resignation hubbub is more perception politics than ground reality
Modi enquires about state’s finances
Venkat Reddy claimed that the Prime Minister enquired about the state’s financial health and whether Telangana was still a surplus state. He replied that the prime minister knew Telangana better.
Though speculation was rife that he was warming up to the BJP, the MP said his meeting with Modi was to seek development funds for his constituency.
Venkat Reddy has been unhappy with the Congress leadership after he was excluded from the party’s revamped Political Affairs Committee.
However, he had not expressed his unhappiness in public but dismissed his exclusion as a trivial issue and recalled that he had resigned as a minister for the sake of Telangana when the Congress was in power.
Recently, Venkat Reddy had met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and reportedly explained the state of affairs of the Congress in Telangana.
The party chief reportedly promised him to consider his suggestions.
