Jagan faces Telangana heat, party blames Congress

Kadapa, July 9 (PTI) YSR Congress president Y S
Jaganmohan Reddy Saturday 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
southeastern Indian state 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 DBV
SSB