Jagan blames Sonia, quits Cong, LS seat

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In a dramatic but long-expected development, the rebellious Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of the late chief minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, and his mother and MLA, Ms Vijayalakshmi, on Monday quit the Congress and also resigned from their elected posts after blaming the “high command”.

Mr Jagan had brought his relations with the Congress to such an impasse that it was a question of the party taking action, or him stepping out of the way. Mr Jagan chose the latter step.
Even more expectedly, his supporters burnt effigies of Congress leaders and attacked party office in the Rayalaseema region, from where he hails. The police swiftly arrested the trouble-makers, and promised protection to Congressmen.
In a five-page letter addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Jagan said that he could not suffer any more humiliation but assured that would not attempt to destabilise the Congress government in the state, since it was brought into being by his illustrious father. He also appealed to Congress MLAs not to resign for his sake.
Jagan lashed out at the Congress accusing it of unleashing a malicious campaign against him and trying to create divisions in his family. Significantly, he also said he had grave doubts about the copter crash that killed YSR and was dissatisfied at the investigation into the incident by various agencies.
“A malicious campaign was being unleashed against me, my family and against my late father Dr YSR,” he said in the letter which was released to the media. “I have been observing utmost restraint so far.”
Jagan made much of the Congress speaking with his uncle and Congress MLC, Mr Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, and offering him a Cabinet post, ignoring the fact that Mr Vivekananda Reddy had to always play second fiddle to him and had once quit his Lok Sabha seat in his nephew’s favour. “A conspiracy is being hatched to vertically split the family that brought back the Congress to power in the state twice,” he said. “Is it fair to lure my uncle to Delhi, thereby paving way for fissures in my family? What is the sin that I have committed?”
Jagan pointed out that even when 150 MLAs supported his candidature for the chief minister’s post after his father’s demise, he acted as per the party direction and supported Mr K. Rosaiah as chief minister.
Even when Mr Rosaiah was replaced by Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy the whole exercise was so smooth because of his cooperation. “Does the party believe that all these are my mistakes?”
Mr Jagan said his controversial Odarpu yatra and was purely a personal affair and part of his duty as a son. Even then, he had postponed the yatra on Mrs Gandhi’s advice, he stated.