Hyderabad: Claiming that Congress in Andhra Pradesh lacked a charismatic leader like late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, a ruling party MLA on Tuesday demanded that his son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy be handed over the reins of the party.
"Congress in the state does not have a charismatic leader like Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. It is only because of the welfare schemes initiated by him that people voted for Congress in the recent by elections. We are demanding that Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy be given the party's leadership in the state," Surekha, a known loyalist of Jagan, told reporters.
The leadership vacuum was evident in the recent by elections and the party would retain its popularity if Jagan is made the leader, she said.
Surekha has written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining her opinion.
She also alleged that all the known supporters of Jagan are being sidelined in a systematic way.
Seeking to buttress her claim, she alleged that Kusuma Kumari has been sacked as Vice Chancellor of Sri Krishnadevaraya University because her family is close to Jagan.
"Vice Chancellor Kusuma Kumari was removed because she is the sister-in-law of Karunakar Reddy (a Congress leader from Tirupati who is a staunch loyalist of Jagan). All those who are with Jagan are being sidelined systematically. Injustice was done to state Congress general secretary Ambati Rambabu (who was suspended from party for his critical remarks against Rosaiah) also," Surekha said.
The state government has sacked Kusuma Kumari following allegations of corruption and irregularities against her.
Talking to reporters earlier in the day, state Higher Education Minister D Sridhar Babu dismissed the allegations levelled by Kusuma Kumari that action was taken against her because of her family's political background.
Kusuma Kumari was sacked as Vice Chancellor on the basis of a report submitted by a retired judge who probed the allegations against her, he asserted. PTI
