Hyderabad: Opposition to Congress MP
Jaganmohan Reddy`s yatra increased on Monday with some top leaders in Andhra Pradesh questioning its motive and others on Monday labeling him as a mere "family successor" of late Chief
Minister YSR Reddy and not the political heir.
"The `Odarpu Yatra` is a farce. The real motive of the
tour has come out. Why should he (Jagan) say that MPs and MLAs
are prevented from joining his yatra, when he has said clearly
that it is a personal yatra.
"Congress has a solid vote bank. Whoever tours, people
would come. If he has the ability, he should come out of the
party and prove himself," Madhu Yashki Goud, Congress MP from
Nizamabad, said in Delhi.
Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Minister Botsa Satyanarayana
targeted Jagan saying the latter was merely a "family
successor" of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy
whereas they (Congressmen) were the true successors of his
political legacy.
"Jagan is YSR`s successor only by inheritance. But we are
YSR`s true political heirs as we have been carrying the party
flag for the past 25 years, sacrificing even our assets,"
Botsa, a close confidante of YSR, remarked.
Talking to reporters at the state Assembly premises, the
Panchayat Raj Minister rebuked Jagan for criticising Chief
Minister K Rosaiah yesterday during his controversial yatra in
Srikakulam district.
"Rosaiah never sought the Chief Minister`s post. The
Congress high command appointed him to the post. Ironically,
it is Jagan himself who proposed Rosaiah`s name for the job,"
Botsa said.
Replying to a question on the Kadapa MP`s yatra, which is
for consoling some bereaved families following his father`s
death, the Minister remarked they were unable to make out
whether to feel happy or ashamed about it.
Slamming Jagan for his attack on the Chief Minister, Goud
said the Kadapa MP should not forget that Rosaiah never
sought the Chief Minister`s post.
P Shankar Rao, Congress MLA from Secunderabad Cantonment,
said it is high time Jagan followed the high command`s
directives.
"Rosaiah reportedly said that I am in a hurry to become
the Chief Minister. I am asking you, am I here to console or
to ask for Chief Minister`s post? I have come here to console.
I do not understand why there is worry about the chief
minister`s post. I think we should be ashamed of this
politics," Jagan said yesterday.
Earlier, Jagan`s remarks that MLAs were being prevented
from joining his yatra attracted sharp criticism from several
senior Congress leaders.
"Jaganmohan Reddy has clearly stated in his open letter
that the yatra is a personal and non-political tour. Then what
is the need for MLAs, MLCs or any political leaders to join
the yatra? Why this debate at all", N Tulasi Reddy, state
Congress spokesperson, asked.
Unfazed by the opposition building against him, the MLA
today started his yatra in East Godavari district in coastal
Andhra Pradesh after offering prayers at the famous temple of
Lord Satyanarayana at Annavaram in the district.
PTI
