Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy stakes claim, vows to cleanse political system

Jagan flew to Hyderabad in the evening, met Governor E S L Narasimhan and staked claim to form the government in Andhra Pradesh. He also met Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao and invited him to his swearing-in ceremony in Vijayawada on May 30.

Jagan is seeking the support of Telangana Rashtra Samithi MPs in Parliament to demand special category status for Andhra Pradesh. He told KCR that 23 YSRCP MPs and nine of TRS should come together to pressure the Centre on the issue. Jagan is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday.

Speaking at the party office at Tadepalligudem in Amaravati, Jagan said, “I promise to cleanse the political system to pave the way for politics of credibility and accountability, and every one of you should be part of this process. Our aims and style of functioning should compel the entire nation to look towards us as we will shape a model state.

“All of you and every party worker in the nook and corner of the state are part of this victory, which has increased our responsibility, and we have to take it forward on all fronts. During the 2014 elections, we missed the bus by just 1 per cent vote. In the past five years, we have seen and braved the unruly and undemocratic methods employed by the TDP government, and were with the people all the time.”

The turmoil the party workers, leaders and people experienced during the TDP term was expressed during the 3,648 km Praja Sankalpa Yatra, reflecting in the resounding victory of YSRCP, he said.

In a lighter vein he said God had punished TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu. “Naidu had bought 23 legislators from our party and it is the same figure of 23 MLAs that TDP has won now, and as coincidence would have it, the results were announced on May 23,” he said. Stretching the analogy further, he said, “He engineered defections of three MPs from our party and now he is left with the same figure of three in this election.”