Jagan Mohan Reddy pulls crowd in Telangana too, questions Sonia Gandhi on Andhra bifurcation

Hyderabad: Sure of winning in Andhra Pradesh, a charged up Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday drew surprisingly large crowds in a Telangana where his party is generally being seen as weak.

The size of the crowds that thronged his campaign meetings in Nalgonda and Khammam districts surprised even leaders of rival parties, given the YSRC’s stand against state bifurcation. The crowds notwithstanding, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy reiterated his opposition to state division and those who brought it about.

The crowds responded heartily whenever he hit out at the Congress and the Telugu Desam. He expressed confidence that his party would do well in Telangana. He questioned AICC president Sonia Gandhi on the issue of biurcation.

“Who gave her the right to divide the state?” he asked adding, “After all she doesn’t even belong to this country.”

When YSRC president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy called the services of his father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, the crowds responded with “YSR Zindabad” slogans.

“The state may have been divided, but none can divide the Telugu people,” Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy said in Kodad in Nalgonda.

“Though the state had several chief ministers, people will remember YSR’s rule for its pro-people approach.” he said adding that all the developmental works YSR had started in the state were stopped after his death. He promised the people of Telangana that once YSRC will come into power, he will resume the developmental works.

He said, “New governments will be formed in two states; my first five signatures will change the destiny of the people of the state.”

“General elections are going to be held in two days. We need to ask ourselves what kind of Chief Minister the state should have. We have to elect a leader who serves the people and remains ensconced in their hearts,” he said.

Addressing an impressive crowed in Huzurnagar in Nalgonda, the YSRC president observed that any leader wanting to alleviate the problems of the poor, needs to first understand them, and that is only possible if one visits them.

He added that no one knows the problems the farmers are facing in the villages or how a poor person manages food three times. “If we go to their huts, their homes, we can try and understand their problems. And for this, my sister will start the Odarpu Yatra from this place,” he said.

The YSRC chief said that YSR showed the world how a Chief Minister should be and added that in two days general elections are due and people have to use their wisdom in electing a leader who cares for the poor.

In Kottagudem in Khammam district, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy surprised all by promising MLC post for his party rebel candidate Adavalli Krishna. He accused Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu for making false promises to the people. He also questioned Mr Naidu on the latter’s announcement of waiver of loans to farmers.