Telangana tribals ask Congress to sack Renuka Chowdhury

New Delhi: Tribal organisations across Telangana region have threatened to boycott Congress party in coming elections if the party high command failed to suspend former Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury.

Participating in a dharna programme in Khammam district of the state on Monday, Lambada and Banjara tribal organisations have demanded immediate action on senior Congress leader for alleged cheating of a tribal leader.

Supporting Bhukya Kalavati, widow of Dr Bhukya Ramachandra Naik, a surgeon and Congress supporter from Wyra in Khammam district, the Lamabada rights organisation state president Ravichandra Chouhan asked the Congress to prove its commitment to the tribals who have been supporting the party for decades, by taking serious action against Chowdhury.

Other leaders who participated in the rally and dharna advised the Congress not to antagonise tribals by not taking action on Chowdhury.

Speaking to mediapersons, Kalavathi alleged that Chowdhury took Rs 1.10 crore from her husband, promising to get him a ticket to contest from Wyra Assembly constituency in 2014 elections.

She further alleged that the ticket was not allotted to her husband and when he sought the money back, Chowdhury refused to return it. She said her husband had borrowed the money to pay Chowdhury, and was under immense pressure to repay the debts, which led to his untimely death last November at the age of 48.

Chowdhury has denied any wrongdoing. The Congress leader said it was totally "baseless, unsubstantiated and politically motivated".

In the 2014 elections, the Congress had an alliance with the CPI, which was allotted the Wyra seat. In the 2009 elections, Naik, who ran the Sri Harshini Nursing Home in Khammam town, contested on a Congress ticket but lost to the CPI candidate.