New Delhi: Attacking Y S Jaganmohan Reddy
for his defiant attitude, Congress MPs from Telangana region
today said people who go against party chief Sonia Gandhi and
her directives have "no place" in the party.
Bringing to the fore fissures in the already divided
Andhra Pradesh Congress unit yet again, the MPs, including
those who were once considered close to Jagan, said they will
always stand behind Sonia Gandhi and not by "any individual."
"We were elected to Lok Sabha by people because of the
party, its symbol and President Sonia Gandhi and not because
of (late Chief Minister) Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. We will stand
by the party and its chief, not by any individual," Nizamabad
MP Madhu Goud Yaskhi told a press conference here that was
attended by several party MPs from the region.
The comments assume significance in the wake of Jagan
planning to go ahead with the third phase of his controversial
`Odarpu` yatra from Prakasam district on September 3.
Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar, who was at the forefront
of the `Jagan for CM` campaign in September last year after
Rajasekhara Reddy`s death, said all MPs from Telangana region
were with Sonia Gandhi.
"We are with madam Sonia Gandhi," he said.
Their comments also come after some MLAs publicly claimed
that they were elected by the people in last elections due to
Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and not because of the party.
Asked whether their attack is aimed at Jagan, Yaskhi, a
known detractor of Rajashekara Reddy, said "whoever goes
against the party -- be it Jaganmohan or his supporters --
have no place."
To a question whether they want party high command to
take action against Jagan, he said, "We are not here to give
directions to the party. The high command is seized of the
matter and we won`t interfere in that."
Jagan, the 38-year-old first-time MP from Kadapa, had
defied party`s directive by going ahead with the second leg of
his yatra last month. Gandhi had advised him against going
ahead with the yatra, but Jagan went ahead.
The MPs also said none of them will participate in
Jagan`s yatra if at all he comes to the Telangana region to
meet the families of those who either allegedly committed
suicide or died of shock after hearing the news of death of
Rajasekhara Reddy on September 2, 2009 in a chopper crash.
The attack by the MPs also show the growing gap between
lawmakers from Telangana and other parts of Andhra Pradesh
over the separate statehood issue.
Last week, Telangana Congress MPs refused to share
table with their counterparts from Rayalaseema and coastal
Andhra at a dinner hosted by Law Minister and party in-charge
of Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily.
PTI
