Viveka to remain in Cong

YS Vivekananda Reddy, the younger brother of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), said he would continue in the Congress party and denied his nephew YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's allegation that the party had hatched a conspiracy to divide the family.

This is for the first time that the soft-spoken Vivekananda Reddy publicly expressed differences among the members of the YSR family, which has remained close-knitted so far. He said he was doing this so that the Congress does not get a bad name.

Addressing a press conference after a brief meeting with his nephew at the family estate in Idupulapaya on Tuesday, Reddy said he had been to Delhi on his own and not at the instance of the party leadership to seek a berth in the ministry of new chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Jagan, as YSR’s son is known, resigned from the Congress and Lok Sabha on Monday. His mother Vijayalaxmi also quit the party and as MLA.

In his resignation letter, Jagan pointed out that media reports stated that his uncle went to Delhi at the instance of Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

“Is it fair to lure my uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy to Delhi, thereby paving the way for fissures in my family?” he asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

“If aspiring for a ministerial berth is a wrong thing to do, pardon me,” Vivekananda Reddy said. He was in Delhi a couple of days ago and even met Gandhi on Sunday.

Vivekananda Reddy said the Congress leadership, particularly Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, always encouraged YSR and offered him coveted posts.

“I will continue in the footsteps of my elder brother who remained a hardcore Congressman till his last breath,” he added.

Indicating fissures in the family, he said that he was ready to contest as a Congress candidate, if the party high command so desired, from the Pulivendula Assembly constituency.

Jagan is expected to contest as an independent candidate from the Pulivendula seat, which has been vacated by YSR’s widow.

Meanwhile, state Congress president D Srinivas held a meeting of the party officer bearers to take stock of the situation following the resignation of Jagan.

He said there was no threat to the Congress government.