Is Jagan's Fast Genuine, Asks Botsa

Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana, on Tuesday, raised suspicions over the indefinite hunger strike undertaken by YSRCP president Jaganmohan Reddy in Chanchalguda Jail in protest against the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Botsa said that Jagan's protest has been going on within the walls of prison, and that nobody knows whether his claims are genuine.

He said it is sad that an individual who had indulged in corruption to loot public money, being compared with Mahatma Gandhi for his hunger strike.

Botsa praised Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for passing the Food Security Bill in Parliament. He commended the fact that despite her ill-health, Sonia Gandhi took part in the 9-hour-long debate and ensured that the Bill, which he said benefits crores of poor people, gets passed.

He said that the Congress party was able to defeat the opposition parties' plot to stall the Bill in Parliament.

The PCC chief meanwhile denied allegations leveled by Union Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo, who had stated that Botsa is backing the Samaikyandhra agitation to become the Chief Minister of the Seemandhra state in future.

He said that he had never opposed the decision on Telangana taken by the Congress Working Committee. However, he said that he had asked the Congress High Command to take into the consideration the concerns of the Seemandhra region before taking a final decision on the bifurcation of the state.

He refused to comment when asked why a Peace Rally by pro-Telangana activists is not permitted in Hyderabad while massive agitations are being allowed in the Seemandhra region.

Botsa also condemned the attack on Seemandhra advocates by the Telangana lawyers at APNGOs Bhavan on Sunday. He demanded that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy take steps to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

When asked for a reaction on the decision of Dharmavaram MLA Kethireddy Venkatarami Reddy to quit the Congress to join the YSRCP, Botsa said that the exit of some leaders does damage the party to some extent, but that in the longer run, the cadre remains undisturbed. (INN)