MP duo fight over Telangana before Azad

AICC state affairs in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday was an eyewitness to a fight within the Congress party over the Telangana issue when two MPs indulged in a slugfest in front of him.

 Sources said that Azad remained a mute spectator for a while when Peddapalli MP G Vivekananda and Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal duelled verbally at the Lake View Guest House.

 Vivekananda requested Azad to persuade the Congress high command to take a decision on Telangana immediately and said that the Congress would be defeated in the 2014 polls if action is not taken.

 However, Lagadapati disputed his claim and argued that the creation of Telangana would harm the interests of the party in both the regions.

 An angry Veivekananda then asked Lagadapati to stay out of it and not create hurdles but the latter claimed that what he said was in the interest of the party in the state.

 Further, when Vivekananda urged Azad to resolve the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy issue soon, Lagadapati felt that the issue could be tackled only in a unified state.

 The anger bubbling inside both then burst forth and a heated argument ensued.

 After a while, Azad was forced to intervene and asked the duo to exercise restraint.

 Meanwhile, PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, Speaker Nadendla Manohar and deputy speaker Mallu Batti Vikramarka were some of the few leaders who called on Azad at Lake View Guesthouse here.