Jagan meets Modi, offers conditional support

The YSRC chief faces multiple cases on financial irregularities and disproportionate wealth

May 20, 2014 04:59 am | Updated November 16, 2021 07:04 pm IST - NEW DELHI

With the Bharatiya Janata Party winning a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is now faced with a problem of plenty as support is coming even from parties outside the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, chief of the YSR Congress and archrival of the Telugu Desam Party, an electoral ally of the BJP, met Mr. Modi here on Friday and offered conditional backing. His party has nine members in the new Lok Sabha.

Though the BJP does not need any additional support in the lower House, it is woefully short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha. So, this is where support from other parties matter.

Conscious of this reality, Mr. Modi has been reaching out to even those who have not approached him. For instance, both he and BJP president Rajnath Singh called up Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha to congratulate her on the spectacular performance of the AIADMK.

Though Mr. Reddy went armed with a memorandum listing things that needed to be done in the new State comprising Seemandhra regions which will come into being on June 2, his meeting with Mr. Modi was essentially political.

Fighting multiple cases on financial irregularities, violation of laws and disproportionate wealth, Mr. Reddy has reason to be worried. A recent Facebook post of Telugu Desam Party says: “It is beyond doubt that he [Mr. Reddy] is going back to jail in 45 days.” On Sunday, Mr. Naidu said, “The law must take its own course ... I don’t have a grudge against anybody.”

Emerging from his meeting with Mr. Modi, Mr. Reddy said he had offered “issue-based support” to Mr. Modi, though “he doesn’t need it.” He complained that the UPA government forced the “most unjust division” of Andhra Pradesh.Reminding Mr. Modi of the BJP’s assurance in Parliament to extend special status to the new State for 10 years, he urged him to issue orders without delay.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.