Hyderabad/New Delhi: After months of defiance,
rebel Congress MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday resigned from the party and quit his Lok Sabha seat from Andhra Pradesh,
accusing party chief Sonia Gandhi of backing `forces` against
him and who are trying to erase the YSR legacy.
Alleging that the party leadership had "insulted and
humiliated" him and his family, the 37-year-old MP from
Kadapa, who always nursed hopes of succeeding his father Y S
Rajasekara Reddy(YSR) as AP Chief Minister after he died in an
helicopter crash 14 months back, is likely to float a new
party.
Jagan while announcing his decision to quit Congress in
a five-page `open letter` to party President Sonia Gandhi also
said his mother Vijayamma, who is an MLA from Pulivendula in
Kadapa, would also quit her post and the party.
The Congress remained unfazed over Jagan`s action,
saying it would have no impact on the party in Andhra Pradesh,
calling the decision unfortunate and maintaining that no
individual was bigger than the party.
"The decision is most unfortunate and misguided," Moily,
who is also AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, told reporters.
Asked whether the development will weaken the party,
Moily remarked "the party is very strong there".
"I have been suffering humiliation in silence during
the last 14 months. A malicious campaign was being unleashed
against me, my family...Deliberate attempts were being made to
wipe out the imAge of Rajashekara Reddy from the hearts of the
people...I realised unfortunAtely these forces have the
blessings of none other than the party High Command itself,"
Jagan said.
"My family is in a situation created by the forces
(behind the campaign) with the blessings of the party High
Command. My mother and I have decided to resign from the
primary membership of the party. We have no other option."
Jagan will soon announce the launch of his new party --
Youth Sramik Ryot (YSR) Congress -- in Kadapa, sources close
to him said.
He faxed his one-line resignation letter to Lok Sabha
Speaker Meira Kumar, LS sources said in New Delhi. The letter
is being examined by the Speaker, the sources said.
The belligerent MP, in his letter, also accused the
Congress leadership of trying to drive a "wedge" in his family
by "luring" his uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy, a member
of the state Legislative Council, with a berth in the Kiran
Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh.
"I have been observing utmost restraint...But the last
straw was the conspiracy that is being hatched to vertically
split the family," he added.
"For the last 14 months, I have been enduring several
insults... my mother was forced to wait for a month(to meet
Sonia) whereas some new friends(Chiranjeevi) who opposed
Congress could get your audience within 24 hours," he told the
AICC president.
The resignation comes a fortnight after the Sakshi
television channel owned by him launched an attack against
Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress.
The TV programme had angered the Congress leadership and the
party had also expressed strong disapproval but no action was
taken against him.
Meanwhile, Y S Rajashekhara Reddy`s brother-in-law and
former Kadapa Mayor P Ravindranatha Reddy today alleged that
Jagan`s resignation was a result of the step-motherly
treatment meted out to him by the Congress.
"Jagan has resigned, just because of the neglected and
partisan attitude of the Congress high command towards him,"
he said.
Former Andhra Pradesh Minister P Subash Chandra Bose,
who accompanied Jagan during his Odarpu Yatra in East Godavari
district, pledged his support to the young leader.
"As a staunch follower of late Chief Minister Y S
Rajasekhara Reddy, it is my duty to extend support to Y S
Jagamohan Reddy," he told reporters in Rajahmundry.
Bose said leaders supporting Jagan were not thinking
about toppling the Andhra Pradesh government and would fully
co-operate on all important issues.
Rajampeta MLA A Amaranatha Reddy too voiced his support
for Jagan.
PTI
