Bypoll review goes awry

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High drama prevailed for two hours at the bypoll review meeting, called in Parkal on Sunday by the district Congress camp. Before the review meeting could begin, a majority of the Congress leaders of the constituency objected to the reported humiliation of Chief Whip Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana.

Two rival sections of the Congress camp hurled chairs at each other over the absence of the PCC chief's photograph on the flexiboard and only a ‘small-sized photograph’ of the Chief Whip as opposed to the large images of ministers Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Saraiah and defeated Parkal nominee S. Samma Rao. With heated arguments taking place, the Parkal police had to intervene and arrest 80 local Congress party workers.

Irked at being forcibly evacuated from the meeting venue, Congress mandal leaders, D. Ramakr-ishna, D. Sambasivudu, T. Suryanarayana, S. Rajaiah and P. Santosh raised slogans against the ministers and Siricilla Rajaiah, MP, for the party's defeat in the Parkal bypoll and demanded their resignations. They alleged that both the ministers and Mr Rajaiah had colluded with the YSR Congress, leading to loss of the security deposit by Mr Samma Rao, who secured the fifth spot with 5,099 votes and managed to poll only 1-5 votes in 20 polling stations. There was more drama at Parkal police station when another group, of about 150 Congress workers, led by Mahila Congress leader Gandra Jyoti, laid siege to the station, demanding rel-ease of those arrested.

“Is it a crime to question the absence of photogra-phs of government Chief Whip and the PCC chief on the flexiboard?” she asked the Parkal police officials. More than 100 party workers staged a blockade on the Parkal-Hanamkonda route and later took out a protest rally from the police station to Ambedkar Chowk.