Denying emphatically that there was a deal between him and the Congress, YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said his options are open as to which formation he would support in Delhi after the 2014 general elections.
Replying to a question at his maiden news conference after his release on bail from Chanchalguda prison here on Sept 23, the late YSR’s son said it would be foolhardy to come to a conclusion that the choice is only between UPA and NDA. There is a possibility of secular forces realigning themselves after the election. “You have JD(U), the Communists and other secular parties. There is no hurry to decide now,” he said.
Interestingly, Jagan Mohan Reddy himself referred to BJP’s Narendra Modi and wanted him to emerge as a secular leader and bring all secular forces together on one platform. “After all, Hindus and Muslims will have to live and die only here. Why the enmity between them? Why give scope for proliferation of internal terrorists?” he said, indicating that he may not be averse to supporting NDA after the election if Narendra Modi shows signs of acquiring secular traits.
Jagan Mohan Reddy denied the allegation that he got bail after promising the Congress that he would support the UPA post-2014 elections. “If I really wanted to strike a deal with the Congress, why would I suffer 16 months in jail? My bail is in accordance with the due process of law. Though I was eligible for bail after three months from arrest, the Congress, hatched a political conspiracy and ensured that I did not get bail,” Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
He recalled his lawyers seeking bail for him in the Supreme Court twice. “First, the Supreme Court set six months time for CBI to complete the investigation. Then, when we approached the Supreme Court the second time, it set four months time to the CBI. Finally, I got bail because the CBI too had to obey the Supreme Court directions,” he said.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said he would begin his Samaikyandhra agitation by holding a massive public meeting—Samaikya Sankharavam—in Hyderabad between Oct 15 and 20. The exact date will be finalised soon, he said. This is to demonstrate the fact that Samaikyandhra means all the three regions--Telangana, Andhra and Rayalaseema. “We want all the three regions. Then only it is Samikyandhra,” he said, and appealed to the Telangana youth to trust him that he would take the region on the path of development. “The late YSR was the only leader who had dreamed of Pranahita-Chevella irrigation scheme,” he said.
The YSRC leader also wanted the Assembly convened immediately to move a resolution in favour of Samaikyandhra. “I made a representation to the Governor to this effect. What is the point in waiting till the Cabinet note on Telangana state is prepared? If we wait, the situation would reach a point of no return,” he said.
Referring to the stand of political parties on bifurcation, Jagan Mohan Reddy said only YSRC, MIM and CPM are committed to Samaikyandhra. All all other parties are opportunistic and enacting political dramas. “We have not taken any U-turn on bifurcation. The letter we have sent to Union home ministry was clear. It said ‘solve the problems’, which is acceptable to all the regions of the state,” he said.
He said he wanted the state to remain united to prevent clahses between farmers of the two regions for water. “How would Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects get water. As it is, we are at the mercy of Karnataka for release of water down Almatti and Narayanpur,” he said. He said if the state is divided, the revenue of Andhra state would go down as 50 percent of total revenue is from Hyderabad alone. This will make it difficult even to pay salaries to employees and take up welfare porgrammes, he said.