(T Lakshminarayana)
Pulivendla (Kadapa): The new state unit Congress president YS Sharmila came down heavily on her brother and Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for protecting the conspirators of their uncle and former MP, YS Vivekananda’s killing.
Sharmila, who entered the electoral fray as Congress nominee from her native Kadapa LS constituency, alleged that despite the findings of CBI sleuths that it was their cousin and sitting ruling YSRP MP Avinash Reddy, is the prime accused in Vivekananda’s killings, her brother chose to look other way, instead of taking action. “I feel ashamed and hang my head as it’s my brother who is protecting the key conspirator of our uncle’s killing. I never expected my brother will stoop to such a new low to remain in power. How dare he do injustice to my cousin (Sunithamma), daughter of slain leader Vivekananda, who was also present on the dais? Even God will not save him,” she thundered while addressing a mammoth election meeting on her home turf, Pulivendala. She said she had spent all her energies when her brother was pushed behind bars in a money laundering case to carry on his ‘Odarpu yatra” walking hundreds of kilometers with a fond hope that he will bring back the ‘golden era’ of her late father Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a chopper crash. “My father was darling of masses. And, as a Congress Chief Minister he had treated every member of the state as his own family and done justice to all and sundry, especially the poor and minorities. People, still believe his tenure was the ‘golden era’ in the state’s history. But, to my disappointment, my brother turned out to be a betrayer, who not only fulfilled or followed the path being shown by my late father but became so greedy and power-hungry soul. According to her, on several occasions, she begged Jagan to do justice to her cousin, Sunithamma, by punishing the culprits of my uncle. “Instead of taking action against the accused, he chose to renominate him to fight Kadapa polls,” she lamented.
She dubbed her brother and Chief Minister as mewn (cat) and not puli (tiger) of Pulivendla. “My late father indeed was the real ‘Puli (tiger) of Pulivendla’, the native of their family. She also accused her brother Jaganmohan Reddy of indirectly aligning with the BJP to further finish the Congress in the state. She further alleged that fearing defeat even before the battle began, the YSRCP candidate Avinash Reddy, who is also her distant cousin, instructed the electricity department to shut power during her meeting. “What does it indicate? Only cowards do that.” Sharmila said her victory from Kadapa is like writing on the wall as people of the constituency see the ‘fire’ that my father indeed handed into me. The elections are slated for May 13. She also expressed her confidence that the party, which was in total disarray would give a good fight in the triangular contest and sprint many surprises on their rivals.
