Anantapur MP JC Diwakar Reddy JC toes party line after CM’s call

Anantapur MP JC Diwakar Reddy, on Thursday decided to toe the party line after the intervention of TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

ANANTAPUR: Anantapur MP JC Diwakar Reddy, who has created a flutter by announcing that he will stay away from the monsoon session of Parliament, on Thursday decided to toe the party line after the intervention of TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Diwakar Reddy, however, said he would take a final call on his resignation as MP on Friday evening after the no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha.

Thursday witnessed dramatic political developments in the TDP circles. While the TDP leadership was trying to pacify the sulking MP, Naidu summoned JC’s bete noire and Anantapur MLA V Prabhakar Choudary to Vijayawada and asked him to bury the hatchet.

Meanwhile, the State government issued a GO, sanctioning `45.50 crore for taking up road widening works in Anantapur municipal corporation, which is said to be the bone of contention between the MP and MLA. While Diwakar Reddy is supporting  widening of roads in Gandhi Street area, the local MLA is opposing the same as it will affect the livelihood of the people doing business there.  From morning, TDP senior leaders were trying hard to convince Diwakar Reddy. However, the MP was non-committal to them.

Things started changing after Prabhakar Choudary rushed to Vijayawada and met Naidu.
After the meeting, Prabhakar Choudary said that the party chief asked him to work with the MP in a coordinated manner.  “Being in public life for more than a decade, I had to work for the interests of the people. I don’t know what his problem is,’’ the MLA said. Later, Naidu called Diwakar Reddy over phone and asked him to participate in the debate. “This is a crucial time for the State as the future of five crore people of AP is at stake. Attend the debate on no-confidence motion,’’ Naidu told the MP according to a party release. Naidu also assured that he would look into the issues (with which the MP is peeved) after the MP’s return from New Delhi.

With this, the MP decided to leave for New Delhi and take part in the Friday’s proceedings in the House. “I took the decision (to participate in the debate) to protect the image of the party,’’ the MP said.
The controversy started with Diwakar Reddy on Wednesday night terming the party’s no-confidence motion a “futile exercise” as the BJP has sufficient numbers. He also said he would not care much about the whip issued by the party.

It is said that Diwakar Reddy felt he was sidelined in the entire process of moving no-confidence motion and the subsequent developments in New Delhi over the past couple of days. Indicating the same, the MP said he did not feel the necessity of attending Parliament as there are more “senior and educated MPs” in the party who can voice the injustice meted out to AP by the Centre.
Meanwhile, activists of the CPI and CPM staged a dharna before the residence of Diwakar Reddy in Anantapur on Thursday afternoon demanding that the MP participate in the debate.

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