All these days, the YSR Congress party leaders had hitherto been making only political criticism against the Congress party and its president Sonia Gandhi and have been refraining from making sweeping comments against her.

But after the arrest of their party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, they started attacking Sonia Gandhi personally and abusing her in the choicest words. Party spokesman Ambati Rambabu led the attack from the front on Tuesday and described Sonia Gandhi as a mafia leader from Italy.

“Sonia Gandhi was born in Italy. The word “mafia” was also born in the same country. And it was Sonia who had brought mafia from Italy to ruin India. The Congress, under the leadership of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi hatched the conspiracy to confine Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to jail in its mafia style operation,” Ambati said.

He said the Congress in connivance of the law enforcing authorities had arrested Jagan only to save its flock and stop further exodus after its disastrous performance in the June 12 by-polls. “If our leader is in the open, the Congress edifice will collapse as there will be exodus from that party,” he said.