Surekha denies link with social media posts in her name

Konda Surekha, who has been dropped from the Telangana Cabinet for alleged indiscipline, on Friday denied any connection with social media posts circulated in her name.

Surekha clarified on X that her family had no connection whatsoever to any news or posts circulating under their name on various social media platforms.

The former minister also provided details of her official social media accounts and requested media and the public to rely solely on information shared through these accounts.

Social media posts attributed to Surekha, reading "big update soon" and "the wait is almost over", were circulated on Friday.

This came a day after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy dropped her from the Cabinet.

The Chief Minister met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Thursday to formally request him to remove Surekha from the Cabinet. The Governor later issued a notification, declaring that Surekha ceases to be a minister with immediate effect.

The Chief Minister made the recommendation to the Governor, after approval from the Congress high command.

The top Congress leadership decided to drop Surekha after a series of consultations during the last 2-3 days with state leaders, including the Chief Minister and state Congress chief Mahesh Kumar Goud.

Surekha also had meetings with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and state in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan.

The action against her followed the report of the state unit's Disciplinary Committee. The panel had recommended strong action against her and G. Chinna Reddy, who has been removed as Vice Chairman of the Telangana Planning Board.

The party leadership had taken serious note of Surekha’s reply to the show-cause notice issued to her following her daughter Sushmitha’s remarks against Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

Surekha had found fault with the notice issued to her, arguing that she can’t be held accountable for the remarks made by her daughter, who is an independent woman.

Addressing a public event in Warangal district last month, Sushmitha had made the remarks against the Chief Minister and also levelled corruption allegations against his family members. She was irked over the Chief Minister’s appeal to people at a public meeting in Parkal to vote for sitting MLA Revuri Prakash Reddy in the next elections.

Sushmitha, who had long been aspiring for a party ticket from Parkal, declared that she will contest from the constituency in the next election even if Prakash Reddy is fielded as the Congress candidate.

Condemning her removal from the Cabinet, Surekha on Thursday alleged that Revanth Reddy blackmailed the Congress high command to oust her. She accused the Chief Minister’s brothers, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and MP Vem Narender Reddy, of hatching a conspiracy to target her.

Surekha, however, had stated that she and her husband Konda Murali will not quit the Congress.

"I am not going anywhere," she said when asked if she plans to join BJP or float a new political party.