Ghulam Nabi Azad: Congress would have made Jagan CM

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AICC general secretary and Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for the first time said that Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy would have become Chief Minister or Union Minister if he had the patience to wait like his father.

Addressing a public meeting in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, Azad said that one has to have the experience and know the functioning of Parliament and Assembly before aspiring for higher positions.

“It was only three months since he had become a Member of Parliament and had hardly attended the sessions three times when his father passed away,” Azad said, questioning Jagan Mohan Reddy for staking claim to the Chief Minister’s post even before he had performed the last rites of his father.

Azad was addressing public meetings along with Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Botsa Satyanarayana and party MP Chiranjeevi at Tirupati and Nellore for the June 12 byelections.

Azad said that a son inheriting his father’s position was possible in the era of royalty but not in a democracy.

‘Jagan’s greed forced family on road’

Azad also said Jagan Mohan Reddy was not the first person to be arrested by the CBI on corruption charges. Reacting to the outcry of Jagan Mohan Reddy's family over his arrest, Azad reeled out a list of politicians jailed on corruption charges.

“Even the Jharkhand Chief Minister and his Cabinet minister were booked for corruption and they are in jail for the last three years,” Azad said.

AICC general secretary said the then Union minister A. Raja and Kanimozhi, daughter of the DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, were also arrested as was Suresh Kalmadi and Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

“In what way is Jagan bigger than these people? Has he dropped down from the sky that we should not arrest him,” Azad asked. He said that the law is not written separately for different people, and the Kadapa MP has to pay the penalty if he is found guilty.

He pointed out that the DMK did not blame the Congress for the arrest of Raja and Kanimozhi, unlike Jagan Mohan Reddy's family, and continued their ties with the UPA government, understanding that the probe had nothing to do with the Congress.

Recalling his close ties with Rajasekhar Reddy, starting from their days in the Youth Congress, Azad said that Vijayalakshmi and Sharmila Reddy are like his sister and daughter. He alleged that the greed of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy forced his family to hit the road.

YSR's reputation was badly hit because of his son, he alleged.