Actor-turned-politician Vijayashanti, who is one of the star campaigners for Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), has hit out against her own party and the lack of female representation in the welcome posters that were printed ahead of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's visit.
Pointing out that the posters only had photos of male leaders, Vijayashanti also said that it was ironical of the Congress to question the lack of female representation in the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
“The people are asking whether the programme is only for men,” she said in a press release.
"Will only men share the dais during Sonia Gandhi's public meeting? If not, there should be photographs of women leaders too, in the publicity material," she added.
Following Vijayashanti's statement on Tuesday evening, in what seems to be a quick fix by the TPCC, advertisements that were printed in the newspapers on Wednesday morning included Vijayashanti's photo amidst the photos of 14 other leaders, all men.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be travelling to the state to address a public meeting in Medchal constituency in the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 23.
According to the itinerary, the senior leader will be reaching the Begumpet airport at 5 pm on November 23 and will be travelling to Medchal via road. Medchal is located around 40 km from the state’s capital. She is expected to return to New Delhi on the same day by around 8 pm.
Rahul Gandhi will also participate in the meeting along with several senior leaders from the TPCC.
The Congress is expected to be banking on a commonly held sentiment among sympathisers of the party that it was Sonia Gandhi’s decision that led to the formation of Telangana.
In November last year, after lying low for three years, veteran actress and former Member of Parliament M Vijayashanti returned to politics after a meeting with Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.
The actress-turned-politician was away from active politics since her defeat in 2014 elections.
"Lady Amitabh", the nickname she earned for her action roles in Telugu films, had joined Congress on the eve of 2014 elections after she was suspended from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for anti-party activities.
She also had a fallout with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
While she has decided not to contest in the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections, Vijayashanti has said that she will campaign for the Congress-led alliance.