By IANS,
Hyderabad/New Delhi : Amid growing chorus that he be named the next Andhra Pradesh chief minister, in succession to the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy Sunday appealed to his shrill followers to wait for party president Sonia Gandhi’s decision, after they disrupted a Hyderabad condolence meeting for YSR.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily, who looks after the party’s Andhra Pradesh affairs, met in New Delhi to discuss the state leadership issue. Sources said the central leadership was upset with the orchestrated demand to make Jaganmohan the chief minister less than three days of YSR’s death.
Jaganmohan’s supporters earlier in the day did not allow state Congress president D. Srinivas to speak at the party’s official condolence meeting for YSR, shouting slogans “DS, down, down” and forcing him to hastily wind up the meeting in the presence of acting Chief Minister K. Rosaiah.
Holding placards and pictures of YSR and Jagan, they shrilly demanded that Jaganmohan should be handed over the mantle of his father, who was killed in a chopper crash Wednesday.
Security personnel had to escort K. Rosaiah, D. Srinivas, union minister Jaipal Reddy and other senior leaders to safety as Jagan’s supporters tried to mob them at the meeting held at Gandhi Bhavan, the state party headquarters.
Jaganmohan, a first-time MP from Kadapa, made the appeal only hours after his followers disrupted the condolence meeting at the party headquarters, and the state leaders called on him and the members of the bereaved YSR family at the chief minister’s camp office.
“Like my father, I am duty bound to be a loyal and disciplined Congress worker. We are in mourning with deep heart. As a disciplined soldier of the Congress, it gives pain to the soul of our beloved leader,” said the 37-year-old Jagan on his return from Kadapa after the state funeral of his father.
He said he was pained to know that the party leaders and workers were rushing to the media, organising signature campaigns, using banners and placards and staging demonstrations to put pressure on the party central leadership to make him the chief minister.
“Every Congress worker knows it is the tradition of our party to leave the decision of leadership to the high command and our beloved leader Sonia Gandhiji. Our high command and Sonia Gandhiji know to respect the public perception and feelings of lakhs of Congress workers, and she knows too well what is good for all of us and what is good for our state and people.,” Jaganmohan said.
“I request you to await her decision on the issue of leadership and also urge you to abide by the decision.”
Jagan expressed hope that the Congress president will take a decision “in a way that Dr (Y.S.) Rajasekhara Reddy’s ideals, mission and zeal would not be compromised in any manner.”
“Moily met Gandhi around 11.30 a.m. Sunday. The party high command is closely watching the developments in the state unit of the party,” a senior Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh told IANS over phone.
The party’s central leadership, which had said that the decision on the successor to YSR — as he was popularly known — would be taken after the seven-day state mourning for him, was unhappy over the pressure tactics being adopted by a section in the party, the leader said.
“The party is looking for a leader from the Reddy community for the chief minister’s post as the number of legislators from the Reddy community is very high,” the source said.