Khammam (Telangana), July 2 : Former MP Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy has alleged that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government is creating hurdles for the public meeting to be addressed by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi here Sunday evening.
He said hundreds of private vehicles hired for bringing people to the public meeting were seized by the authorities due to pressure from the ruling party.
Srinivasa Reddy, who is set to join the Congress party at the public meeting, told media persons that no matter how many hurdles the BRS creates, the public meeting will prove a huge success.
The former MP said the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) refused to give buses on hire for bringing people for the public meeting. “The BRS is also stopping private vehicles from bringing people to Khammam. They have seized licences and registration certificates of 1,700 private vehicles,” he said.
Srinivasa Reddy said private vehicle operators were being forced not to give their vehicles to the Congress party for the public meeting.
The former MP turned emotional while appealing to his supporters to make the public meeting a big success. He urged them to defy the attempts of the ruling party in a peaceful manner to gather in large numbers.
He said the downfall of BRS and Chief Minister KCR would start from this public meeting.
The Congress party has made elaborate arrangements for the public meeting, where Srinivasa Reddy along with his supporters will join the Congress party. The meeting will also mark the culmination of ‘people’s march’ by Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
The Congress leaders are confident that the public meeting will infuse new enthusiasm in the party and give a big boost to the efforts to bring the party to power in the state.
Rahul Gandhi will be reaching Gannavaram airport at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh from New Delhi in the afternoon. From there, he will reach Khammam by a helicopter around 4 p.m.
Heavy rains lashed Khammam on Saturday night, disrupting the arrangements. However, the Congress leaders said this would have no impact on the conduct of the public meeting. They were hoping that there will be no rains on Sunday evening. (IANS)
