In a surprise move, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was removed as the party’s in-charge of Telangana today.

Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, “Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved a new AICC team to look after the party affairs in Telangana”.

AICC (All India Congress Committee) secretary R C Khuntia has been appointed as the new in-charge of Telangana.

The communication issued by the Congress said, “Digvijaya Singh has been relieved of the responsibilities as general secretary in-charge of Telangana”.

In April, Digvijaya Singh was removed as the AICC in-charge of Goa and Karnataka after the Congress failed to form the government in Goa despite winning the largest number of seats in the Assembly election.

REASONS FOR REMOVAL

The corridors of Gandhi Bhawan, the state Congress headquarters in Hyderabad, were abuzz with talks of Digvijaya Singh being removed because he was trying to bring working president of Telangana Telugu Desam Party Revanth Reddy into the Congress as Telangana chief.

Few top leaders in the party, however, said that Digvijaya Singh has decided to launch a ‘spiritual padyatra’ in his home state Madhya Pradesh from September and therefore the Congress has got a new in-charge to lead the state ahead of the 2019 election.

A former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Digvijaya Singh was made the in-charge of Andhra Pradesh in 2013 after Congress relieved Ghulam Nabi Azad of the duty.

Digvijaya Singh was the Congress in-charge in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh till the bifurcation of the state in 2014.