The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) Rajya Sabha member Ryaga Krishnaiah quit his House membership on Tuesday (September 24), becoming the third leader of the party to do so following its debacle in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
YSRCP on Tuesday alleged that Krishnaiah had joined hands with TDP head and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. YSRCP leaders P Anil Kumar Yadav and K Karumuri Nageswar Rao expressed disappointment over the resignation and alleged that Naidu was purchasing leaders.
Allegations made by YSRCP leaders
"Chandrababu is using such tactics to cover up his failure in providing effective governance. Krishnaiah's actions would not weaken the YSR Congress Party and the public would definitely respond strongly and teach a lesson when the time comes," said the YSRCP leaders in a release.
According to Yadav and Rao, Naidu's alleged purchasing of opposition members is destabilising the state and undermining democracy. They asserted that former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had given an opportunity to Krishnaiah, who hails from neighbouring Telangana, with the hope that he would work for the upliftment of BC communities, despite having several capable leaders within YSRCP.
The YSRCP leaders noted that Reddy had trusted Krishnaiah to represent the voice of BCs in the national capital and Parliament and thus he gave him the Rajya Sabha seat.
What Ryaga Krishnaiah say about his resignation?
Meanwhile, Krishnaiah said that he has been fighting for increasing quotas for backward classes in local bodies and other issues of the BCs.
He further added that he was being seen as a YSR Congress leader. Amid a stream of desertions from the YSRCP, Krishnaiah's resignation on Tuesday is the latest. YSRCP Rajya Sabha MPs Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao and Beedha Mastan Rao Yadav quit their posts recently.
Following the latest resignation, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party has nine members in the Rajya Sabha.
