Kiran accuses Jagan of forcing bypolls on people

                                                                          

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and several Ministers have heaped praise on activists for strengthening the party and accused YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy of forcing by-elections in the State to “satiate his greed for power.”

“He made the MLAs elected by you to resign,” they said.

Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, addressed a meeting of booth volunteers and party workers of Payakaraopeta Assembly constituency held for the first time in the State here on Wednesday in the run-up to the June 12 by-election, and urged them to meet every voter three or four times before the election, spend some time with each one of them, even if he or she is a staunch supporter of other parties, and try to convince them to vote for the Congress.

Every government programme must be taken to the people and they should be assured that the Congress would be in power for the next two years with guaranteed development, he said. He promised the activists that their hard work would be rewarded. “All those who work sincerely during this election will be preferred for the party ticket for the ZPP elections, panchayat elections, and other elections to follow,” Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said.

More than 2,000 booth volunteers and party workers attended the meeting. He said that a similar exercise would be taken up in all the other 17 Assembly segments where by-elections would be held since booth-level workers were crucial for the party.

The Chief Minister and APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana came down heavily on Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy for forcing the by-elections and G. Babu Rao, who was disqualified as MLA of Payakaraopeta.

“YSR's advice”

Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said the former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had openly told a meeting of 156 MLAs and MPs who were elected from Andhra Pradesh in the 2009 elections that he had committed some mistakes in the past and had paid for it, and advised them not to work against the party.

Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was also present at the meeting.

The late leader might have said so to tell his son not to leave the Congress in future. But Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy launched a party with the only motive to gain power, supported the Telugu Desam's no-confidence motion, and was moving close to TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao.

He said Rajya Sabha member K. Chiranjeevi wanted him to convey his wishes to the people.

If the Congress candidate secured a majority of 50,000, it would be the real merger of the Congress and the Praja Rajyam, he said.

Earlier, Minister for Ports Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who was elected on Praja Rajyam ticket, wanted the voters to ensure a big majority to make complete the PR-Congress merger.

The APCC chief said the party was working as per the wishes of its ground-level workers.

YSR Congress was without a direction or aim and all its programmes were of the Congress.

Tribal Welfare Minister P. Balaraju said Congress' win would ensure prosperity of Payakaraopeta.

Minister for Health K. Murali, Government Whip Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao, Bobbili MP Botcha Jhansi, MLC D.S.N. Raju, MLAs U.V. Ramana Murthy Raju, Bolem Mutyalapapa, and Ashok Babu and DCC president Thota Ganesh spoke.

from Hindu