YSR Congress honorary president Y. S. Vijayamma had baptism by fire as the leader of her party when she was physically removed and bundled into a police van for protesting against the arrest of her son Jaganmohan Reddy outside the Dilkusha guest house here on Sunday. However, she continued the dharna outsider her residence in Jubilee Hills.
Accompanied by family members, Ms. Vijayamma, MLA from Pulivendula, staged a three-hour long dharna on the pavement outside the guest house after meeting her son.
She was joined in the protest by daughter Sharmila, son-in-law Anil Kumar, Jagan's wife Bharati and close relative Y. V. Subba Reddy besides Congress MP Sabbam Hari and MLC Jupudi Prabhakar.
Impromptu dharna
Even before Mr. Jagan's arrest was formally announced, tense family members drove from the Lotus Pond residence to the guest house and had a brief meeting with him. On emerging, Ms. Vijayamma, fighting back tears, spoke to the large contingent of media before staging an impromptu dharna.
In what could be a preview of the election campaign which she is now called upon to spearhead, she wondered what would happen to her son now in view of grave apprehensions about the manner in which her husband died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. “Is this the reward you are giving to YSR who wanted to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister”, she asked.
Demands explanation
She demanded an explanation about the circumstances under which Mr. Jagan had been arrested and the basis for it.
“What mistake has he committed. Was it wrong to have gone on “Odarpu Yatra” and honour the promise made to people. Is he being harassed because of his popularity among the people and the by-elections”, she asked.
Ms. Vijayamma and her family members put up a stiff resistance when police tried to remove them.
They first bundled Mr. Subba Reddy, Dr. E. C. Gangi Reddy, Jagan's father-in-law, and Jupudi Prabhakar into police vans. Later, women police dragged the others, pushed them into waiting vehicles and drove them to their residence.
