Jagan pokes the Congress

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Rebel leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy literally mocked at the Congress – the party he left early this month – by publicly parading at least 24 MLAs, four MLCs and an MP at his 48-hour hunger-strike camp on the banks of river Krishna in Vijayawada in the last two days. With this, Jagan sought to prove that it was indeed he who was in control of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh and threw a challenge at the party high command daring it to take action against its members who sided with him. Three MLAs from Praja Rajyam Party and an MLA suspended from the Telugu Desam also stood by Jagan at the so-called Lakshya Deeksha, hunger-strike for farmers. This brazen “show of strength” by Jagan has left his parent party totally shaken. Disarray will only be a mild word to describe the situation in the Congress circles in Hyderabad as the party MLAs so publicly sat with Jagan and spit venom at their own government. In fact, Congress leaders here did not even muster the courage to react to the situation as the number of legislators joining Jagan increased. “The party high command will look into it and take an appropriate decision,” was the only reaction by Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman N Tulasi Reddy. While state Health Minister D L Ravindra Reddy termed the Congress MLAs’ participation in the former MP’s fast as “unethical,” former minister Gade Venkat Reddy did not see anything wrong in it. “Jagan was trying to highlight the plight of farmers to the government. The MLAs only extended their solidarity but never said they will leave Congress,” Venkat Reddy said. While the Vijayawada development will not in any way affect the TDP, the PRP is certain to be worried as a few more of its MLAs are tilting towards Jagan. Will the Congress high command display the gall and act against its unruly MLAs is a puzzle for now.