Vayalar Ravi against targeting YSR

                                                                   
HYDERABAD: Union minister and Congress high command's emissary to the state, Vayalar Ravi, is against targeting the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, in the attempt to take on YS Jaganmohan Reddy in the coming byelections.

Ravi is said to have made an assessment of the cold war between chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana, and the threat from YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to the party in coastal districts. He is expected to brief party high command over the schisms in the party and the kind of intervention that is required to set the house in order.

"YSR was a friend of mine. It is not fair to talk about him as he is no more," Ravi said. It appears that he is afraid of the backlash from people if the Congress launches an invective against YSR. He, however, called Jagan Mohan Reddy a political upstart. "He is a boy," he said, but clarified that he was not calling him a 'batcha'.

Though Ravi asserted that his mission was only to infuse new life into the party and not go into leadership issues, there is speculation that Ravi's visit is one step closer to effecting a change of guard. Those who met and appraised him of the running feud between the chief minister and the PCC chief left with the impression that he was making his own assessment of how the rift was damaging party interests.

For the record, Ravi says he was deputed to AP by the party high command since Ghulam Nabi Azad was busy. Meanwhile, Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar, who called on Ravi, said the party should come out with a decision in favour of Telangana state soon. Prabhakar said Telangana MPs would meet Ravi in a delegation on Wednesday. Ravi later said his job was not to go into the Telangana debate.

Even as Ravi landed in Hyderabad on Monday night, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was away in Delhi. Earlier, he spent a busy day at the conference on internal security. Ravi said he would consult Kiran Reddy when he arrives on Wednesday on what should be done to make the party alive. Though Ravi denies there were serious differences in the party, he, however, admits there was a threat form Jagan Mohan Reddy. 

from ibn