Hyderabad, September 23 – In a notable setback for the Congress party in Telangana, all three Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) from the state failed to cast their votes on the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Initially, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) had denied these claims. However, it later confirmed that Revanth Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy were unable to participate in the voting.
Revanth Reddy, who also serves as the TPCC president, along with the other two MPs, had departed to attend a meeting of the party’s screening committee tasked with finalizing candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. Unfortunately, upon their return to Parliament, the voting on the Bill had already concluded. These leaders were caught between the concurrent sessions of Parliament and the screening committee meeting.
The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) criticized the Congress party for the absence of its three MPs during the crucial voting on the Women’s Reservation Bill. The BRS alleged that the MPs had walked out of the Lok Sabha at a pivotal voting moment, exposing what they deemed as the Congress’s hypocrisy on women’s empowerment.
Initially, Congress leaders denied the absence of their MPs during the voting. However, the party later issued a statement on X, asserting that the MPs were unable to participate in the voting due to their commitment to the state’s interests. The party expressed disappointment that this matter was being politicized.
The statement read, “We may not have been there at the time, but our full support was given at the CWC meeting in Hyderabad.”
The Congress party emphasized its historical commitment to women’s empowerment, highlighting that in 2010, the Congress government led by Sonia Gandhi had introduced a bill for 33 percent reservations without conditions like census and delimitation redistribution of constituencies. Despite having the power to implement such a bill today, the BJP government introduced the bill with conditions to delay its immediate implementation. The Congress, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi, supported the bill, considering it the dream of Rajiv Gandhi and a core policy of the party.
The party also recalled the struggles of Congress MPs in Parliament during the fight for the creation of Telangana state and condemned Chief Minister KCR for failing to visit MPs who were hospitalized due to pepper spray attacks.
