Goud, Peddy Reddy resign from TDP

Hyderabad, Jun 23: Opposition Telugu Desam (TDP) deputy Legislature Party leader T Devender Goud resigned from the party and his Assembly seat today along with another senior TDP leader E Peddi Reddy, upset with the party leadership's ''dilly-dallying'' on the issue of statehood for Telangana.

Mr Goud, considered as Number Two in the party and an ardent supporter of a separate Telangana state, sent in his letter of resignation from the party to TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu and from the State Assembly to Speaker K R Suresh Reddy.

Mr Peddi Reddy, a former Minister who had unsuccessfully contested the recent byelection from Huzurabad, also resigned from the party over the alleged insult meted out to him in the party for raising the Telangana issue.

A prominent Backward class leader from Ranga Reddy District, Mr Goud has been exerting pressure on the party leadership to take an early decision on the statehood issue and decided to quit due to his colleagues' attitude on the issue in the recent Core Committee meeting on Telangana.

Mr Goud said ''As a son of Telangana, I will strive for achieving statehood for Telangana. I will dedicate my life for the cause of Telangana people'' Mr Goud is also a member of the TDP polit bureau. After submitting his resignation, Mr Peddi Reddy told reporters that he decided to quit after the ''change in party's attitude'' after the recent byelections.

He said he felt ''insulted'' after some party leaders ridiculed him for suggesting to the leadership that the party declare support for any Bill introduced in Parliament on the issue, to corner the ruling Congress, which had backtracked on the issue after fighting the last Assembly elections with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.

After the party's poor performance in his home district of Rangareddy in the recent byelections, Mr Goud, with high political stakes, mounted pressure on Mr Naidu to expedite its decision on Telangana as further delay on the issue would adversely affect the party's propspects in the 2009 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The TDP had already issued a show cause notice to another senior TDP leader from Telangana G Sukinder Reddy, considered close to Mr Goud, for allegedly sabotaging the winning chances of Mr M Narasimhulu, who contested the recent byelections from Alair Assembly constituency.

UNI