YSR's son appeals to supporters to obey Congress High command
Hyderabad: The son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy, on Sunday urged his supporters to obey
the party high command's directives on the succession issue in the state. Appealing
to his supporters to be patient, Jaganmohan Reddy said: "Sonia Gandhi (Congress
president) knows what is good for us all. This is not the time to air one's choice
of succession. Please abide by Sonia Gandhi's decision. Await Sonia Gandhi's decision.
Jaganmohan Reddy's message came as Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Veerappa Moily
met Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence in New Delhi for a little over 15
minutes. It was decided to send a tough message to YSR Reddy loyalists to back
off from their demand to make Jaganmohan Reddy the next chief minister of the
state. It was also decided that a decision on the leadership issue in Andhra Pradesh
would be taken after the seven-day mourning period for the late chief minister,
who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday. The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee
also organized a condolence meeting for Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy today, an occasion
that was used for campaigning openly for his son Jaganmohan to take over as the
next Chief Minister. At the end of the 10-minute multi-religious prayers and reading
out of condolence messages and a two-minute silence, a crowd assembled in the
PCC HQ Gandhi Bhavan, majority of whom were young supporters of Jaganmohan, including
women, got up shouting slogans demanding that YSR's son should be made the next
chief minister. "We want Jagan", said a number of posters carrying his pictures
while a number of others carried pictures of YSR. Jaganmohan himself was not present
on the occasion. He had just arrived in Hyderabad from Idupulapaya, two days after
last rites for his late father. There were also slogans shouted against some leaders
who had criticized the attempts to make Jaganmohan the next Chief Minister. The
shouting continued in the presence of interim Chief Minister K Rosaiah, PCC President
D Srinivas, Union Minister Jaipal Reddy, who all quietly left when slogan shouting
did not stop despite appeals that it was an occasion for silent mourning.
