For the first time in a decade, the Congress party has made an overt attempt to not only distance itself from the oft-made criticism of besmirching the image of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, but also to drive home the point to the voters that it had no role in getting his name included in the CBI charge sheet after his demise.
Party star campaigner and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to Kadapa parliamentary constituency on May 11, made it a point to visit YSR Samadhi at Idupulapaya and pay respects at his grave.
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Addressing a mammoth public meeting in Kadapa in support of APCC president Y.S. Sharmila, who is also the party nominee for Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, Mr. Gandhi insisted that the party was not behind getting YSR’s name included in the charge sheet.
“The Congress will do nothing to damage the reputation of its own Chief Minister. It was done by someone who wanted to derive some benefit by adding his name,” he said, without going into the details.
Source of Inspiration
Mr. Gandhi called Dr. YSR as a close associate of Late Rajiv Gandhi and hailed him as a fatherly figure.
“When I missed my father, Dr. YSR used to act as a mentor by asking me frequently to reach out to the public,” he said. He also called YSR’s famous padayatra as a source of inspiration for his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Calling Ms. Sharmila as ‘chelli’ (younger sister), Mr. Rahul Gandhi wanted to see her in the Parliament to make the voice of Andhra Pradesh heard.
Criticising Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for bending over backwards to appease the NDA regime led by Narendra Modi in view of his corruption cases, he said the ruling party in the State had thoroughly let down the people.
Mr. Gandhi reminded to the public that the promises made by the then Central government (UPA) in 2014 ahead of the State’s bifurcation remained unaddressed by the NDA in power for a decade, but the successive TDP and YSRCP regimes had also failed to stand up to the Centre and extract the promises made on the floor of the House.
“Give my sister a chance to enter the Lok Sabha and all the issues will be solved. I have never sought any promise from the voters in any public meeting, but this time, I request you to promise me to send Ms. Sharmila to the Parliament,” was his appeal.
Mr. Gandhi pointed out that Andhra Pradesh needed Ms. Sharmila to win from Kadapa in order to keep alive the YSR’s ideology and the values he had stood for.
