Hyderabad:
The Congress high command's emissaries, who were recently in Hyderabad to take stock of the party's position in Andhra Pradesh, was conveyed by state leaders that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy should be removed forthwith if the ruling party wants to stem its political slide.
In the last two days he spent in Hyderabad, Union Minister Vayalar Ravi has received complaints against the Chief Minister.
A handful of senior ministers, a group of MPs (from Telangana region), scores of MLAs and senior party leaders have demanded Mr Kiran Reddy's removal.
"What has been ailing the Congress in Andhra Pradesh in the last two years is a clear leadership crisis", was the message conveyed to Mr Ravi.
Some state leaders also accused Mr Kiran Reddy of promoting groupism in the party and discriminating between regions at a time when the party is grappling with Telangana issue. The MPs from the state allegedly told Ravi that "special grants" were released to select constituencies (going to by-polls in Andhra-Rayalaseema), and not in Telangana.
The leaders also said the perceived rift between the Chief Minister and PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana was harming the party.
"He (Kiran) is an introvert," Mr Ravi reportedly remarked when a senior minister told him about the "unilateral" policy decisions taken by the Chief Minister.