I am doing the Congress a favour: Jaganmohan

The former MP from Kadapa, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who recently quit the Congress, openly challenged the high command on its own turf by undertaking a daylong fast on Tuesday on the Krishna water issue with the support of two Congress MPs, 24 Congress MLAs and three party MLCs from Andhra Pradesh.

Late in the night he and some of his supporters were formally arrested by the Delhi police for undertaking the stir beyond the permissible time but were released immediately.

Cutting across party lines, two MLAs of actor-politician Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party and one MLA from the Telugu Desam Party too joined the stir held at Jantar Mantar. Sources close to Mr. Reddy said the TDP MLA from Kovur, Prasanna Kumar Reddy, expressed his inability to attend the programme but extended his support.

Though the fast was intended to highlight the “injustice” meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the recent award of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT), Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy turned the venue into a virtual launch pad for his political activity by openly daring the Congress high command: “At present I am doing a favour to the Congress party because if my MLAs resign, the government there [in A.P.] will fall.”

Mr. Jagan quit the Congress along with his mother Y.S. Vijayalakshmi (MLA from Pulivendula) in November last alleging that the Congress was putting a spoke in his wheel — the “Odarpu Yatra” to meet the families of those who died/committed suicide, anguished over the death of his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in a chopper crash on September 2, 2009. He, however, made it clear that his intention was not to topple the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh.

“Had I wanted, I could have done it [toppling] a long time ago. I am a gentleman. So I am doing a favour to the Congress.” He had asked his supporters to continue to be in the Congress.

“The Congress can, if it wants to, take action [against party MPs and MLAs]. My people are very categorically saying that they have nothing to do with the party and they are still there [in Congress] because I am asking them to remain there. They have also been saying that in 2014 they would be contesting elections on my party ticket and not on Congress ticket.” They were very open about the fact that if they were in the Congress, they were doing the party a favour, he said.

However, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari dismissed Mr. Reddy's claim as an “illusion” and said the Kiran Kumar Reddy government was not under threat and would never face any danger.

Those who participated in the fast include Congress MPs Sabbam Hari (Anakapalli) and Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy (Nellore), Praja Rajyam Party MLAs Bhuma Shobha Nagi Reddy (Allagadda) and Katasani Rami Reddy (Banganapalle) and TDP MLA Y. Balanagi Reddy (Mantralayam).

Other notable participants in the “Jal Deeksha” [protest for water] include the former Ministers, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and Surekha, film-star turned politicians Jayasudha, MLA, and Roja, ex-MLA.

Earlier, Mr. Jagan arrived in Delhi by a special train from Hyderabad with thousands of his supporters to participate in the protest, which was basically to highlight farmers' plight following cyclones, untimely rains and floods over the last one year.