YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's sister Sharmila launched her marathon padayatra in Idupulapaya on Thursday.
"When one of my kids is in jail, I am sending another to you," Vijayamma said in an emotional tone, while addressing the inaugural public meeting in Idupulapaya.
"We are surviving only because of your support and love," she said, adding, "You have been supporting us ever since we came out of the Congress. We enjoyed your blessings from the Kadapa by-elections to the recent by-elections, and we need your continued support."
Vijayamma claimed that YSR had fulfilled all the promises that he had made during his padayatra before the 2004 elections, and accused the present Congress government of diluting all his schemes.
"After YSR's death, Jaganmohan Reddy wanted to fulfill his father's unaccomplished dreams, but he was jailed under false charges," she said.
She said that the padayatra was proposed by Jagan when the family members had met him in Chanchalguda Jail.
"He advised us to remain among the people to listen, understand and solve their problems," she said.
"Since Jagan is in jail, Sharmila volunteered to launch the padayatra till he is released," she said.
Vijayamma also compared YSR with Chandrababu Naidu. Stating that YSR had brought in a special package of farmers from the Centre, she said that Naidu did not even visit the families of farmers who had committed suicide. She accused Naidu of scrapping Prohibition and the Re.-2-per-kg-rice scheme launched by N T Rama Rao.
Ridiculing Chandrababu Naidu's
padayatra, Vijayamma asked why, if the TDP chief was so unhappy with the government, he was not introducing a no-confidence motion.
She said that the YSRCP had offered open support to the TDP's no-confidence motion, but that both the Congress and the TDP were afraid of facing the elections since they were aware that Jaganmohan Reddy would sweep the next polls.
"As YSR's daughter, Jagan's sister and an ordinary worker of YSRCP, I am launching this padayatra to bring back Rajanna Rajyam," Sharmila said in her speech.
Describing Naidu's padayatra as a "yellow drama", Sharmila alleged that the TDP and the Congress were hand-in-glove in the conspiracy of keeping Jaganmohan Reddy away from the people.
She alleged that a delegation of TDP MPs had met Union Minister P Chidambaram asking him to influence the judge and utilise the Enforcement Directorate to fix Jagan. She said that it was on the same day that the ED had attached the properties of the Sakshi group.
Sharmila said that the Congress and the TDP together were trying to ensure that no third political party gets strengthened in the state. She said that that was the reason why Naidu had launched his padayatra while ensuring that Jagan remains in jail for a longer period.
Holding Naidu responsible for suicides committed by thousands of farmers during his rule, she said that Naidu's words would not be believed by the people.
Calling herself "a bow" of her brother, Sharmila said that she has launched the padayatra to dethrone the "inefficient Congress government". She expressed confidence that the padayatra would be concluded by Jagan after his release from jail.
Earlier, accompanied by her mother Vijayamma and her sister-in-law and Jagan's wife Bharathi, Sharmila paid tributes to her late father and former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, at YSR Ghat. Multi-religious prayers were also held at the site, where priests wished her luck for the success of her padayatra.
Later, Sharmila visited IIIT, and interacted with the students there. On the first day, she is scheduled to walk 13 kilometres, covering Veerannagattupalle, Kumarampalle, Vempally intersection and Rajiv Nagar Colony.
Sharmila is scheduled to walk 3,000 km in all, covering all 23 districts of the state. (INN)