Digvijaya Singh meets Congress leaders to defuse crisis in its Telangana unit
Hyderabad(PTI): Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday held meetings with party leaders in Telangana to resolve the crisis in the party's State unit in the wake of some senior leaders complaining that those who recently joined the party got prominence at the cost of "original leaders and activists."
Singh, who had served as in-charge of party affairs in undivided Andhra Pradesh, met a number of State party leaders at Gandhi Bhavan, Congress headquarters in Telangana.
Observing that Singh had a deep understanding about the State, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the former was aware of party leaders serving the party for long. He said he discussed contemporary political, economic and social issues in the State with Singh.
Former Union Minister Renuka Choudhary, senior leader and Congress MLC T Jeevan Redy, former Union Minister Balram Naik were among those who visited Gandhi Bhavan.
Singh is likely to speak to reporters on Friday.
The senior party leaders in Telangana, who had expressed dissatisfaction over party affairs, cancelled a meeting on Tuesday following the intervention of Digvijaya Singh.
The Congress in Telangana has been hit by internal feud with some senior leaders alleging that those who "migrated" to Congress from other parties got prominence in party posts.
More than 10 leaders had resigned from their PCC posts in response to these remarks.
The leaders who quit on Sunday include sitting Congress MLA Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) and former legislator Vem Narendar Reddy.
Former deputy chief minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh Damodar Rajanarasimha on Saturday, in an apparent reference to some of the former TDP leaders who joined the Congress, sought to know what message it would give to "original Congress activists" if those who "migrated" to the Congress from other parties got prominence.
He was flanked by Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, party Lok Sabha member N Uttam Kumar Reddy, former MP Madhu Yashki Goud and party MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy (known as Jagga Reddy) when he made the comments. The senior leaders held a meeting on Saturday.
The dissatisfaction of these leaders is seen as directed towards State Congress president and MP A Revanth Reddy.
After the Congress's poor performance in the recent bypoll to the Munugode Assembly constituency, the party's State unit has been facing the infighting as the senior State party leaders expressed dissatisfaction over the recently announced jumbo PCC committees.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi-bound Air India flight carrying MPs diverted due to snag, Venugopal says it was 'harrowing'
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader and Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee K C Venugopal has claimed that an Air India flight carrying him and several other MPs from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi "came frighteningly close to tragedy".
In a statement, the airline said that Air India flight AI2455, flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, was diverted to Chennai on Sunday evening due to a technical issue.
In a post on X on Sunday night, Venugopal said, "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi -- carrying myself, several MPs and hundreds of passengers -- came frighteningly close to tragedy today."
"What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai...
"For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt -- another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt," he said.
"We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again," the Congress leader wrote.
Responding to Venugopal on X, Air India said, "We would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions."
"A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC (air traffic control) during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway ... Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight," Air India claimed.
"We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority," the airline added.
The flight AI2455, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, was airborne for more than two hours, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
"The flight crew of AI2455 operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on August 10 made a precautionary diversion to Chennai due to a suspected technical issue and given the weather conditions en route," the airline said in a statement earlier.
Air India said the flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks.
Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations at the earliest, Air India said, and regretted the inconvenience caused.
Details about the number of passengers were not available.
The flight took off a little past 8 pm from Thiruvananthapuram and landed in Chennai at around 10.35 pm, according to Flightradar24.com.
In recent weeks, there have been instances of Air India's aircraft facing technical snags.
