Former Minister quits Congress in protest

Gulbarga, May 7 (UNI) Former Minister Vaijyanath Patil resigned from the Congress in protest against the ''indifferent attitude'' of the senior party leaders for not taking steps to amend Article 371.

Talking to newspersons here today, Mr Patil said he had addressed a letter to the All India Congress Committee(AICC) President Sonia Gandhi, a copy was released to the press, in which he alleged that injustice was meted out to the backward people of Hyderabad and Karnataka region.

Mr Patil vowed to defeat Congress stalwarts like Dharam Singh and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) President Mallikarjun Kharge in the ensuing assembly elections to Karnataka.

He was a founder of Hyderabad-Karnataka Horata Committee, which is demanding separate Statehood for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

Mr Patil was elected on Janata Dal(JD)(S) ticket from Chincholi constituency. He had, however, joined the Congress after he was expelled from the JD(S).

UNI DP SIV RR HT2104