The ugly wordy duel between Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao and Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal over Telangana issue has virtually divided the Congress MPs into two rival camps.
Though the Congress high command has asked both VH and Lagadapati not to stretch the issue too far and forget it as an unfortunate development, it has become a topic of heated debate among the MPs.
While Lagadapati received support from MPs like Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, Vundavalli Arun Kumar and K S Rao, other MPs from Telangana including G Venkatswamy, Vithal Rao and Kesava Rao supported Hanumantha Rao and even lodged a complaint with the high command on the highhanded behaviour of Lagadapati. And VH also received a lot of support from the Opposition parties including TD, TRS and even the Left parties.
The incident also got a caste colour. Hanumantha Rao’s group is spreading the theory that he was humiliated only because he belonged to weaker sections. They are also blaming it on Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, since he has been the man behind Lagadapati. “If this humiliation continues, we will take it very seriously and launch an agitation,” a supporter of VH said.
