Why Did TRS Drop Plan To Expel Eatala ?

[Anta Assamey]

It has been nearly a week since senior Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and Eatala Rajender was sacked from the K Chandrasekhar Rao cabinet on the charges of encroachment of assigned lands and endowments lands.

It was believed that Eatala would be arrested and prosecuted for his acts of omission and commission, but he managed to escape it by moving the high court, which ordered that the government take up a comprehensive investigation into the same with due procedure, instead of a hurried inquiry.

Though the TRS leaders from erstwhile combined Karimnagar district remained silent initially, they later targeted Eatala for questioning the authority of KCR who had given him political life. But that was confined to only one press conference.

There were reports from the TRS that the party leaders from Karimnagar and Huzurabad (the native constituency of Eatala) would adopt a resolution on Tuesday asking the party high command to sack Eatala from the party. Surprisingly, it did not take place.

What is more surprising is that Eatala also did not resign from the TRS or the state assembly membership on his own giving rise to the impression that he was waiting for further action from KCR. 

Though he has been under tremendous pressure from various BC groups and other followers from his constituency, he did not show any hurry and is waiting for the action from the party.

Sources said Eatala had sent feelers to the party leadership that he would continue in the party and would not make any comments against KCR or the TRS in the coming days. 

Even when his party colleagues like Gangula Kamalakar and Koppula Eshwar made an attack on him, he did not make any counterattack.

He even said he had never questioned the authority of KCR and had, in fact, supported the candidature of K T Rama Rao for the next CM post.

Apparently, his feelers made the party high command to rethink on his expulsion from the party. If Eatala is sacked from the party, he might get the martyr image and that would only damage the party at least in some areas.

“If Eatala is allowed to continue in the party, there is nothing for him to do as he has been crippled in all aspects. He will have to remain like Tatikonda Rajaiah or D Srinivas or for that matter Kadiyam Srihari. If he tries to raise his head and speak against the party or the government, he will only be in trouble,” a party source said.