The confrontation between the Congress high command and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is reaching a flash point, if the developments last week are any indication.
The high command, which had been patiently watching the belligerent attitude of Jagan and his camp all these days, has started playing its cards. It sent a message to Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas first to restore the order in the state Congress party, which has become chaotic due to lack of proper coordination. He held a luncheon meeting of the Congress MPs and though it was a damp squib due to complete boycott by the Rayalaseema MPs and those in the camp of Jagan, it was the first step towards bringing the flock together.
Then came the PCC meeting on September 30, where DS conveyed the message of Sonia Gandhi loud and clear: that nobody should violate the orders of the Congress high command. For the first time, the PCC gave directions to the party cadres not to participate in the yatras taken out by individuals like Jagan and if anybody does, it would be in violation of the party discipline. The Congress high command also expedited the process of distribution of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of those who died out of grief for Y S Rajasekhara Reddy; it approved a list of 490 such people and issued directions to console them. Obviously, it was like the proverbial last straw for Jagan, who has been totally disgruntled with the high command ignoring his popularity being projected through the marathon Odarpu Yatra.
And the Jagan camp turned more aggressive this week. Jagan attacked the Sonia loyalists as people without “magathanam” who were making allegations against his father after his death. On the other, Jagan loyalists Nellore MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy and his MLA-brother M Chandrasekhra Reddy, though did not attack the high command directly, made pungent comments against the anti-Jagan group in the Congress. They described the so-called seniors as “old foxes” for poisoning the mind of Sonia Gandhi and asserted that the without Jagan, the Congress would not be able to come to power again in 2014.
Former minister and Parkal MLA Konda Surekha went a step ahead and called the seniors as buffoons. She made a sensational statement that the Congress had been completely buried after Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s death and later came down heavily on D Srinivas for warning her against crossing the party discipline. In a letter to DS, she questioned his wisdom to complain to the high command against her, while sparing leaders like Palvai Goverdhan Reddy, P Shankar Rao and V Hanumantha Rao who are causing more damage to the party by making allegations against YSR. She reiterated that the party would suffer heavily, if it ignored the leadership of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
It is evident that the Jagan camp is ready for the showdown with the high command. And DS responded it with a show cause notice to Nellore District Congress Committee president Y Gopal Reddy for announcing that he would take part in Jagan’s Odarpu Yatra in Nellore district later this month. By serving the show cause notice on Gopal Reddy, DS has dropped enough hints that all the other Congress leaders including Konda Surekha would get the notices very soon and action would be initiated against them.
As regards the Telugu Desam Party, the aggressive show put up by its leaders, particularly the Telangana leaders, was not visible this week, except that they had decided to stage a dharna in front of Sonia’s residence on October 25. They invited KCR to join them, but the latter shot back saying he would do so, if TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu joined the dharna. He also demanded that the Telangana TDP leaders should first stage a dharna in front of Naidu’s residence, as he had adopted a dual stand on the issue.
The murder of Vijayawada TDP leader Chalasani Venkateshwara Rao alias Pandu in a land dispute early this week was a setback for the TDP. The murder created a sensation in the state but the police acted quickly and arrested the culprit, his own associate Mahender Reddy. But what is more interesting is that the murder prompted noted producer-director Ram Gopal Verma to decide on making a film on rowdyism in Vijayawada. It led to a lot of criticism from the Vijayawada politicos, but he is adamant on making the film.
Another interesting development of the week was the judgement in the sensational case of rape and murder of Ayesha Meera, a fist year B Pharmacy student at Vijayawada three years ago, with a women’s court sentencing a petty thief Pidathala Satyam Babu to life imprisonment. It was a tragic end to a more tragic murder, as there were allegations that the actual culprit responsible for the murder was Gudavalli village sarpanch Koneru Satish Babu, who happens to be grandson of former deputy chief minister late Koneru Ranga Rao, but the court went by the evidences.
The Ayodhya verdict led to some anxious moments across the state, but thanks to the wisdom of the people who displayed tremendous restraint, the day went off peacefully.
