Slap Diggy on the face: Jagan

Hyderabad: Expressing his anger over AICC general secretary in-charge of state affairs Digvijay Singh for his remark at a press conference here on Friday that YSR party has Congress DNA, party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said, “Give a strong slap on his face.”

Though Digvijay had made similar comment in the past, the YSRCP president never reacted so harshly. This remark of Jagan came in reply to a question from the media at a press conference on Saturday.

Interestingly, perhaps for the first time, Jagan chose to charge Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy with extending his cooperation to the Centre in the process of bifurcation of the state.

The YSRCP president said that Kiran under the garb of being an integrationist was deceiving the people of the state and was making false promises that he would be able to stall the process of bifurcation even when the waters had reached the nose level.

“When the CWC made its decision, waters came to our feet. He failed to stall the process at that stage. When GoM was formed, the water came to our knees. Claiming that the process will not move forward he got the strike by the APNGOs withdrawn.

When the Union Cabinet approved the draft Bill, the water had reached up to the waist level and now that the Bill has reached the Assembly the water has come to our neck level. If the MLAs fail to wake up at least now and rise to the occasion cutting across party lines, we are sure to get drowned,” he said.

Explaining the efforts he and his party were making to keep the state united, Jagtan said he had tried to gather the support of political parties from other states to keep the state united by amending Article 3 of the Constitution. He said he had succeeded in making some of those parties to agree to move an adjournment motion in Parliament. “If bifurcated, one state will fight for 9th place and the other for 14th place.

They will also fight over payment of salaries and sharing of river water,” he said. If the state has to remain united, then it is necessary that all leaders cutting across party lines should come on one platform. “Jaganmohan alone can’t do this; I want support of all of you. We will not leave any stone unturned in our fight and we will fight till everything is exhausted." he added.

Training his guns against TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Jagan said Naidu was also deceiving people. Every day he makes statements adding to the confusion. "On one hand his 4 MPs side with United Andhra and give notice for No- Confidence against the Centre and on the other hand two other MPs demand separate T state.

It appears Naidu himsel has no clarity on what he wants.” During his press conferences in the last one week, he never uttered the word of Samaikyandhra. On the other hand he spoke as if he was taking tuition to the students, Jagan said.

Reacting to the allegations leveled against the YSRCP by Naidu, Jagan said the TDP president should ask his conscience before making wild allegations.

He requested Naidu, "Please come and give a letter in support of Samaikyandhra.” “Even now it is not too late. Naidu should question his conscience on whether he was taking a correct stand or not on the issue of bifurcation of the state. Otherwise, the people of Kuppam Assembly constituency, represented by him, would catch the collar of Naidu and ask for water and employment once the state is divided,” he said.