Jagan faces Telangana heat, party blames Congress

Kadapa, July 9: YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today (Jul 9) faced the Telangana heat on the second day of his party's plenary session even as the newly-formed outfit sought to steer clear of the contentious issue by blaming the Congress for the current imbroglio.

Chaos reigned at the plenary as YSR Congress workers from Telangana and Andhra-Rayalaseema regions held aloft placards and raised slogans for and against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Party leaders had a tough time pacifying the slogan-shouting workers. Those from Telangana demanded that Jagan immediately announce the YSR Congress' stand on the separate state demand.

Congress MLA from Telangana region, Konda Surekha, blamed her party for the current impasse.

"When he was alive, one party blamed then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for blocking the formation of Telangana state. Now that YSR is no more, what is preventing Telangana state from becoming a reality," she questioned, in an oblique reference to the separatist Telangana Rashtra Samiti.

Appealing to everyone to respect the sentiments of Telangana people, Surekha said the entire country was eagerly awaiting Jagan's word on the statehood issue and concluded her speech with the ''Jai Telangana'' slogan.

Former Congress MLA Bajireddi Govardhan accused the Congress of betraying the people of Telangana on the issue of creation of a separate state.

Others leaders of YSR Congress like Ambati Rambabu, who spoke at the plenary, too accused the Congress of remaining dodgy on the statehood issue.

Jagan, who held a placard in support of a unified state in Lok Sabha when he was a Congress MP, is expected to spell out the YSR Congress' stand on Telangana when the plenary passes political resolutions.

PTI