Hyderabad: Urging the ruling Congress in
Andhra Pradesh to dissociate itself from the allegations of
corruption during late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy`s
tenure, a party MP has also said that YSR`s photographs should
be stopped from being used in party`s publicity material.
"How would people believe if YSR`s photo is carried?
And it is alleged that Jagan (Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy)
is corrupt," senior Congress Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha
Rao told reporters.
"I had said a long ago that father and son cannot be
seen in isolation," he said.
Replying to a query, he said truth would come out in
the ongoing investigation (by CBI into the cases involving
Jagan) whether Rajasekhara Reddy was corrupt or not.
The debate as to whether to blame Rajasekhara Reddy or
not has started within Congress of late, with some leaders
suggesting that allegations against Jagan cannot be seen in
isolation.
While leaders like Hanumantha Rao suggest that the
party stops using Rajasekhara Reddy`s name, others like Lok
Sabha member A Sai Pratap say that they cannot criticise the
late Chief Minister due to the strong association they had
with him.
State Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana said
yesterday that truth over the allegations of corruption
against Rajasekhara Reddy regime would come out in the CBI
probe.
Hanumantha Rao suggested that a meeting of senior
leaders be convened to analyse the party`s preparedness for
the ensuing bypolls to 18 assembly seats.
He regretted that no such meeting was held after the
loss in the bypolls to Kadapa Lok Sabha and seven assembly
segments recently.
The bypolls in 16 constituencies became necessary as
the sitting Congress MLAs were disqualified by the Assembly
Speaker for switching loyalty to Jagan and voting against the
Congress government during a floor test last December.
The sitting member quit in support of the Kadapa MP in
one constituency, while another seat became vacant, when
actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi quit as MLA following his
election to the Rajya Sabha.
Congress drew a blank in the recent bypolls to seven
assembly constituencies in the state.
The YSR Congress had said that the "policy decision
taken by Congress not to spare YSR on corruption charges will
spell doom of the ruling party".
PTI
