Venkat’s fate in Congress to be sealed after poll

Hyderabad: The fate of Bhuvanagiri MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy in Congress will be decided in a day or two with a section of party leaders expecting it after Munugode bypoll on Thursday.
Sources said the high command had taken a serious note of Venkat Reddy staying away from the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi when all the senior leaders were walking along with him.
A senior leader said Venkat Reddy will face action if he does not participate in Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana.
“Top leaders have been sweating it out to shuttle between Munugode and Bharat Jodo Yatra route, squeezing out time from the tight schedule. Venkat Reddy had announced through a video clip that he would not campaign in Munugode and Congress would not win even if he hit the hustings. He could have at least come early to participate in the padayatra. His absence from the yatra has sent wrong signals to the cadre and high command,” he said.
Venkat Reddy, who had gone to Australia, returned to the city on Tuesday. While some party leaders said he shot off his explanation letter to Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and AICC disciplinary action committee member secretary Tariq Anwar, a few others said he was yet to reply. Efforts to contact him did not yield any result.
Anwar was in Bihar on Wednesday and is expected to return to Delhi on Thursday. “After reaching Delhi, he would look into the issue and confirm if his office has received any explanation letter from Venkat Reddy,” a party leader said. However, a section of Congress leaders advised the AICC leaders to take action, if any, only after Munugode polling.
Former MP Hanumanth Rao found fault with Venkat Reddy for not participating in Rahul Gandhi’s padayatra. “Venkat Reddy still has time to participate as the yatra will continue up to November 7. The party had bestowed star campaigner status on him. I appeal to him to join the last leg of the padayatra in the state,” he said.
Anwar served a show-cause notice on Venkat Reddy seeking an explanation for asking party worker Mohammed Jabbar to work for BJP candidate Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy in Munugode. Raj Gopal is the younger brother of Venkat Reddy.
The 10-day show-cause notice period concluded on Tuesday.