"Don't drag me into controversy," former PCC chief D Srinivas refutes claims of rejoining Congress

In an embarrassing situation for the Telangana Congress, at a time its leaders-cadres are occupied with protests against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP, two time PCC chief and former minister Dharmapuri Srinivas (74) refuted claims of him rejoining the party.

The veteran leader's written statement on Monday came a day after wheel-chair bound Dharmapuri appeared in the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad, along with elder son D Sanjay, and was adorned with a Congress scarf in the presence of AICC Telangana in-charge Manikrao Thakre, state unit chief Revanth Reddy and other leaders.

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The Telangana Congress even sent out a gleeful tweet calling Dharmapuri its “lucky mascot” and that his reentry augurs well for the party in the assembly election year.

“The Congress won the elections in Andhra Pradesh twice when Dharmapuri was the PCC chief. His rejoining is an indication that the party will come into power in Telangana now,” said the tweet from @INCTelangana.

In another tweet, Telangana Congress attributed a quote to Dharmapuri - “Rahul Gandhi is my leader. How can he be disqualified as an MP?”

But on Monday, Dharmapuri addressed a letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, clarifying that he was in Gandhi Bhavan only “to accompany his son Sanjay who was rejoining the Congress.”

Family feuds?

The “U-turn” is being attributed to the feud between his two sons. While Dharmapuri's elder son Sanjay, who earlier served as Nizamabad mayor, has now rejoined the Congress, his younger son is the firebrand BJP Lok Sabha MP Dharmapuri Arvind.

“I'll remain a supporter of Congress ideology but I wish to keep away from active politics because of my age, ill health. It is improper to connect my rejoining to my son's ticket,” said Dharmapuri, while requesting Kharge to "consider the missive as his resignation if it was deemed that he rejoined the party."

Nevertheless, the volte-face has apparently infuriated the Telangana Congress leaders. “We did not invite them, we do not know their family panchayati (issues),” said V Hanumantha Rao, a senior leader, who was also present during the Gandhi Bhavan event Sunday. “Is this a ploy to make the Congress unpopular?”

Dharmapuri's wife Vijayalakshmi shot off another letter, “to the concerned” saying that “this is not the way to make my husband join your party.” Accusing that her husband, who earlier suffered brain stroke and paralysis, “had seizures because of the pressure he was put through on Sunday,” she appealed to the Congress leaders “to keep away and let the indisposed Dharmapuri live a bit peacefully.”

Sanjay also appeared on TV channels accusing his younger brother of exerting pressure on his parents to act according to his interests.

Dharmapuri, who had joined the BRS following the state bifurcation, was made a Rajya Sabha member. The relation between Dharmapuri and KCR reportedly strained after Arvind defeated BRS chief and CM K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2019.