Protest against AICC after Jagan’s resignation

Well-wishers of YSR's son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy gather at his residence after the announcement of his resignation as the MP from Kadapa LS seat, in Hyderabad on Monday. Photo: Nagara Gopal

The Congress party high command was the target of angry reactions from the supporters of Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy after he resigned from Parliament and from the primary membership of the ruling party on Monday.

His supporters in Kadapa and Anantapur districts went on a rampage attacking party offices, ransacking furniture, burning effigies of AICC president Sonia Gandhi. Scores of Mr. Jagan’s followers thronged his residence at Sagar Society in Banjara Hills here and raised slogans against Ms. Gandhi and the Congress party.

In his native district of Kadapa, Mr. Jagan’s supporters changed the name of the District Congress Committee office from ‘Indira Bhavan’ to ‘YSR Bhavan’. All office-bearers of the Kadapa DCC led by K. Suresh Babu tendered their resignations while several party functionaries in Prakasam, Kadapa, Anantapur districts also announced their decision to part ways with the Congress.

Mr. Jagan is expected to visit his Idupalapaya estate in Kadapa by train to pay respects to his father’s grave and make an announcement about his future plans. His mother, Vijayalakshmi, who also resigned from the party as well as from the Assembly, will accompany him.

In his open letter to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Reddy narrated the reasons and circumstances that compelled him to resign from the party. He said he was the one who had proposed the name of Mr. K. Rosaiah inspite of having the support of 150 MLAs and extended his cooperation for the smooth conduct of the CLP meeting where N. Kiran Kumar Reddy was chosen.

Yet, “some murky and disgusting politics” were played behind his back. His uncle Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy was “lured” to Delhi, paving for creating fissures in his family.

Mr. Jagan said that in spite of attempts to isolate and send him out, he would leave the party alone. He appealed to the MLAs who adored his late father “not to resign for my sake”. He also said that it was not his character to hatch a conspiracy to throw out the AP Government, notwithstanding the `malicious campaign’ against him by the Congress leaders.

Meanwhile, former Minister Konda Surekha, a staunch loyalist of Mr. Jagan, described his resignation as sad and unfortunate. She quoted Mr. Jagan as saying said that since the late YSR had single handedly brought the party to power for a second term, MLAs should continue in the party till 2014.