Bhubaneswar: Eminent trade union leader and AICC in-charge of Telengala Rama Chandra Khuntia is asserting his position in the southern state. Khuntia, who hails from Odisha, has shown the door to a veteran Congress leader in Telangana S. Satyanarayana for daring to defy him in party meeting.
At a party’s review meeting convened to discuss about the causes that lead to the party’s debacle in the recent state elections, AICC in-charge was charged by Satyanarayana for the poor performance of the party at the hustings. Abuses were hurled at him by the Telangana Congress leader who was a minister in the UPA government. Telangana Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, and general secretary B Kishan also had to face the wrath of the veteran leader. Khuntia and others had to dodge when water bottles were threw at them out of rage by Satyanaryana.
Following this incident, the AICC has suspended Satyanaryana.
Khuntia, in fact, has become an important AICC functionary . The trade union leader who was a Rajya Sabha MP played a key role in installing the Congress government in Telangana. It was Khuntia’s plan to huddle the party’s Karnataka MLAs in Telangana to save them from poaching by the BJP. When the air route for deportation of the MLAs was blocked by the rivals, Khuntia suggested that the bus carrying the legislators to cross over to Telangana. Kuntia along with his state president received the convoy of MLAs at the border only to shift them to a luxury hotel.
