Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on February 11 (Sunday) appealed to the people to unseat Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy from power “to save the State from a dictator.”
Addressing a public meeting at Nagari, Ms. Sharmila said that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had no right to claim to be the heir of late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy as he failed to carry forward the legacy of the former Chief Minister.
“Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power by promising to usher in ‘Rajanna Rajyam’ and fight for the Special Category Status (SCS) for the State. But, after coming to power, he became a slave to the BJP government at the Center much like his predecessor and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu,” she said.
The APCC chief defended her joining the Congress party, saying that it had recognised the services of YSR and was committed to bestowing SCS to the State.
Recalling the services of YSR to the State, Ms. Sharmila reiterated that she had the right to serve the people of Andhra Pradesh, which, she called, as her birthplace.
Vicious campaign in social media
She lamented that despite being the daughter of YSR and sister of Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the YSRCP leaders had resorted to heinous personal attacks on her on the social media. She blamed Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy for being silent on the issue and for instigating his party cadres to carry out the vicious campaign against her.
Terming the YSRCP government’s flagship programme, Navaratnalu, as a farce, Ms. Sharmila said that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy betrayed the people by shelving the Jala Yagnam projects initiated by YSR.
“My father dreamt of seeing the farmer as a king. But the farmers under the YSRCP rule are left in the lurch. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy betrayed the youth by promising a job calendar annually. Though there are 30,000 vacant posts, the DSC announced ahead of elections aims at filling only 6,000 posts,” she said.
‘Roja steeped in corruption’
Referring to Nagari MLA and Minister for Tourism R.K. Roja as an “iron leg who was shunted out of the TDP,” Ms. Sharmila said, “People of Nagari say there are four Ministers in their constituency — Ms. Roja, her two brothers and her husband. All the four are looting the people by resorting to corruption at every step, be it liquor, land and sand.”
Ms. Sharmila also condemned the remarks reportedly made by Ongole MLA on Saturday that “she could not have crossed Ongole had she not been the daughter of YSR.”
Referring to the local issues in Nagari, Ms. Sharmila said that the Congress party was committed to completing the Galeru-Nagari project, apart from addressing the problems of the powerloom sector.
Earlier, Ms. Sharmila was accorded a warm reception by the party cadres led by APCC working president P. Rakesh Reddy at Nagari. She participated in a rally from the town entrance to the Tower Clock Center, where she addressed a public meeting after garlanding the statue of YSR.
