Senior Congress party leader and Guntur MP, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao admonished Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.

He said the Congress was vitiated in the State under his rule and the party will be thrashed in the by-polls.

He is the second senior Congress leader to criticize publicly CM Kiran Kumar Reddy ahead of crucial by-polls slated on June 12, to 18 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency.

Rayapati said, "No community can afford to stay with the Congress given the attitude of the Chief Minister. Even if some candidates are changed now, it will in no way alter the fate of the party in the bypolls."

He also stated, "Kiran Kumar is more interested in himself than the party that has made him CM.”

Similarly, another senior leader and Health Minister D L Ravindra Reddy criticized the CM and even dubbed Kiran as a 'covert' of YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy.

Like Rayapati, DL also predicted that the Congress under Kiran Kumar would be defeated in the bypolls.

Incidentally, Rayapati’s outbursts against the CM came on a day when PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana met Ravindra Reddy and urged him to hold his fire against Kiran Kumar at least until the bypolls are held.

Rayapati said the Congress was sure to bite the dust in Macherla and Prathipadu (SC) constituencies in Guntur district.

He said, "In both these constituencies, farmers form the bulk of the voters. But ignoring the ground realities, Kiran has repeatedly ignored my various suggestions including appointing somebody as in-charge to oversee the developmental works in these two segments."

"I suggested to him that a Kamma leader be appointed chairman of the Guntur market yard, which is the biggest in the country and falls under the Prathipadu assembly constituency. In Prathipadu, most of the farmers belong to the Kamma community and constitute 45,000 voters (followed by 35,000 SC voters).

However, the CM is favouring a member of the Vysya community for the post of market yard chairman. Given the animosity between the farmers and the traders, the farmers would make sure that the Congress loses in the bypoll," reasoned the MP.

Rayapati said his suggestion to the Chief Minister that a Kamma should be appointed as head of the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali- Mangalagiri urban development authority was also ignored. (msn)