Coming down heavily on Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for his remarks on Y S Jaganmohan Reddy being in jail, the YSR Congress says that it was a "joint conspiracy" by the Congress and the TDP that was responsible for the "undemocratic arrest" of the Kadapa MP.
"Our leader was arrested for defying the Congress High Command and going ahead with the independent agenda of fighting for the cause of people, and for not cooperating with the Congress," YSRCP spokesperson Ambati Rambabu told reporters on Wednesday.
"Though the Chief Minister claims that the Congress and the government have nothing to do with Jagan's arrest, it is in the open that the PIL to investigate the disproportionate assets of our leader was filed by Congress MLA Dr. P Shankar Rao, who later disclosed that he had filed it at the behest of the Congress High Command," Ambati said.
"Kiran Kumar Reddy's sarcastic remarks about whether Jagan went to jail for the SC-ST Sub-Plan or to fight for the people's cause do not go well with the sequence of events resulting in the arrest of our leader, as the case was a joint conspiracy of Congress and TDP," he said.
"Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is in jail because he had won the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat with a record majority, and because his popularity ratings were swelling, and not for the allegations leveled by the Congress and Chandrababu Naidu, who have been demoralised by their depleting base and cadre," Ambai said.
"All the cases Jagan has been charged with are false, and his arrest has been undemocratic. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Naidu have been misleading the people with distorted versions," he said.
"Kiran Kumar Reddy's governance has been in dire straits and in pitch darkness, as the state is reeling under a severe power crisis. His government's image has hit rock bottom, while the Chief Minister is trying to redeem some of its lost prestige. However, he will go down in history as bringing the fewest number of MLAs to the Assembly after the next election, and he will not even have the status of being an Opposition party," he said.
Expressing no surprise over the TDP leader rejecting Sujana Choudhary's (who did not participate in the voting on FDI in Rajya Sabha) resignation, he said, "It is a foregone conclusion, as the three MPs had abstained from voting on the directions of Naidu himself."
"Naidu has been lobbying for FDI into Heritage Foods, as it has to come out of the red. The TDP president is a potential beneficiary from FDI in the retail sector," he said.
"Sharmila's knee surgery was successful, and as per the doctor's advice, she will resume her padayatra," he said.
On the upcoming all-party meeting for the Telangana issue, he said that the party has been discussing the issue and will take a decision on it in due course of time.
When asked about the party's
tussle with the TRS, he said, "YSRCP does not believe in violence. We believe in democracy. It was an issue which brought to the fore the ideology of both the parties." (INN)