Minister for Textiles and Handlooms P Shankar Rao on Friday extended his personal invitation to former Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to rejoin the Congress party.
Talking to reporters after a darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, the minister expressed confidence that Y S Jagan would accept his invitation and rejoin the Congress.
Jaganmohan Reddy's "homecoming" will give a new lease of life to the party, the minister said.
Shankar Rao said that the former MP had taken the decision of quitting the Congress and launching his own party, as he was under pressure from his sycophants.
Brushing aside the reasons given by Jaganmohan Reddy in his 5-page resignation letter for quitting the Congress, the minister said, "If Jagan is obedient and follows the high command's orders loyally like his father and former chief minister YSR did, he would also become a powerful leader in the state."
The Kadapa leader said that a coterie around the high command had alienated him from the Congress and had also spread canards. He also charged the coterie of driving a wedge in his family with an intention of splitting it.
"If Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy rejoins the Congress party, I will tour the 23 districts in the state along with him in and participate in his yatras," Shankar Rao said.
Reacting to speculations that the chief minister would be replaced, the minister said that the high command will continue with N Kiran Kumar Reddy until a decision on the Telangana state is taken.
Elections for the Telangana state will be held in 2012, if a separate state is formed, Shankar Rao said.