Ruling out mid-term elections in Andhra Pradesh after the June 12 by-elections, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday claimed that the Congress government was strong and would last its full term.
Hitting out at YSR Congress president Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy for holding the Congress responsible for the court-directed CBI probe into disproportionate assets case against him, he said: “Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy is no martyr. Whether he is outside the Congress or within, he cannot escape the cases filed in court.”
Winding up his day-long campaign in support of party nominee for Ongole Assembly seat, Magunta Parvathamma, along with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Congress MP K. Chiranjeevi and others, Mr. Azad told a press conference here that this was not a general election when a change of government would take place and the State government was strong and would last its full term. Replying to a question, he said it was the collective responsibility of the Congress for not noticing the wrong-doings of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy during the YSR regime. “India being a huge country, anybody can make money. Unless it is noticed, action cannot be initiated.”
Pats Kiran government
Addressing a series of election meetings in the town in the scorching summer heat, Mr. Azad said: “A weak government cannot perform. A strong government is needed in the interest of people and for the State's development.” He patted the Kiran Kumar Reddy government and urged the people to make it stronger.
He described the DMK as a ‘dependable' ally of the UPA and said this did not come in the way of court case against former Minister A. Raja or cases against a former Jharkhand Chief Minister and some of his Cabinet colleagues and Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi. Even former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had not blamed the Congress for cases filed against him.
The Chief Minister urged the party cadre to maintain the tempo in the next five to six days and highlight the various pro-poor initiatives to the people at the grassroots level to win over the people. He questioned as to what mistake he had committed that efforts were made to destabilise his government. “Is it a sin to implement a host of welfare schemes, including interest- free loans to farmers and women self-help groups?”
Mr. Chiranjeevi said Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was in a hurry to become the Chief Minister even before last rites for his father were completed whereas AICC leader Rahul Gandhi had turned down prime ministership and decided to wait to gain experience. Congress supporters waited for hours to cheer the actor-turned-politician and other Congress leaders in every street corner. Union Ministers Panabaka Lakshmi and D. Purandeswari were among those who spoke.
