Denial of a Cabinet berth to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Balineni Srinivasa Reddy in the recent reshuffle triggered a protest by the supporter of the former Energy Minister in Prakasam district on Monday.
A group of angry YSRCP activists set ablaze a motorcycle after staging a protest in-front of the party office near Mangamoor road junction, as the swearing-in of the new Ministers was organised in Vijayawada on Monday. The protesters also blocked the old Chennai-Kolkata bypass road. However, the police observed restraint and faced stiff resistance from the ruling party activists who held up vehicular traffic on the highway for a couple of hours.
Second-rung party leaders including Ongole Mayor Gangada Sujatha and 43 corporators threatened to put in their papers if Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy did not ‘undo the injustice’ meted out to their leader (Mr. Srinivasa Reddy).
Meanwhile, Ongole Agriculture Market Committee chairman Katari Ramachandra Rao announced his resignation from his post. The supporters of Mr. Srinivasa Reddy said that the former Energy Minister stood with Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy when he was denied the Chief Minister’s by the Congress high-command soon after the tragic demise of Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash.
Chirala MLA Karnam Balarama Krishnamurthy met Mr. Srinivasa Reddy and expressed hope that the Chief Minister would suitably accommodate the former Minister in a Cabinet-rank post.
The party would suffer a severe drubbing in the polls if corrective steps were not taken immediately, the senior party leader made it clear to the party leadership as Advisor to State government (public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy held several round of talks to break the deadlock.
Growing discontent
Meanwhile, Mr. Srinivasa Reddy has made it clear to the party leadership that he felt pressure from his followers against continuing as MLA under the present circumstances. He was the first to offer his resignation as Minister when the Chief Minister decided to go for a total revamp of the Cabinet. “It is unfortunate that several Ministers still continue in the revamped Cabinet,” he said.
The followers of Giddalur MLA Anna Rambabu were not happy with the party leadership as they expected a Cabinet berth for their leader in place of Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao. Members of the trading community down the shutters and staged a road blockade on Monday.
