Andhra divided to make Rahul PM, Jagan says

Hyderabad, Oct 17: In a scathing attack, YSR Congress leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy on Thursday accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of splitting Andhra Pradesh so as to make her son Rahul the prime minister.

In one of his strongest criticism of the UPA government's decision to create Telangana, the MP said Sonia Gandhi was playing with "our lives and the lives of our children" to make her son the prime minister.

Jaganmohan Reddy did not elaborate but critics have alleged that the Congress broke up Andhra Pradesh so as to gain votes in both the regions - Telangana and the rest of the state known as Seemandhara.

Jagan, as the young leader is popularly known, was speaking to the media after urging Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to convene the Andhra Pradesh assembly so that it could pass a resolution to keep the state united.

A delegation of YSR Congress leaders led by Jagan called on the governor at Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum. This was the second meeting that Jagan had with the governor after Sep 30.

The MP from Kadapa said that only by passing a resolution and sending it to the central government could the process of the state's bifurcation be stalled.

"At least now the assembly session should be convened so that a resolution is passed before the centre sends a draft bill (for the formation of Telangana state)," he said.

Jagan announced that his party legislators would stage a sit-in in front of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy's camp office Friday, and also meet assembly speaker N. Manohar to press for an assembly session.

He also reiterated that Chief Minister Kiran Reddy and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu were hand-in-glove with the Congress to split the state.

He said Naidu undertook a fast in New Delhi seeking the state's division, while the chief minister was holding talks with employees' associations one after another to persuade them to call off their protest for a united Andhra Pradesh.

"The central ministers have also given up the Samaikyandhra (Andhra Pradesh united) demand and are now seeking a package," he said.

Jagan said his party would hold a public meeting in Hyderabad Oct 26 to oppose Andhra's bifurcation. He urged the chief minister and Naidu to keep aside politics and join him in his efforts to keep the state united.

He said he would send a letter through MP M. Rajamohan Reddy to Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, urging her to accept the resignation of all three MPs (Jagan, Rajamohan Reddy and S.P.Y. Reddy).

S.P.Y. Reddy recently quit the Congress and joined the YSR Congress.

IANS