His exit has given us clarity on loyalties, says Chief Minister
N. Kiran Kumar Reddy HYDERABAD: Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy said here on Thursday that he did not view the rebellion by Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Kadapa MP, as an adversity for the Congress since it had helped in separating milk from water.
It was an opportunity for the Congress to rebuild the party cadre in places where Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was strong.
Although the 5.43-lakh margin of the YSR Congress president's victory in the Kadapa by-election was unanticipated, the silver lining was the fact that the ruling party could nominate polling agents in all but 20 booths compared to TDP's 12 and Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's eight.
In a free-wheeling interview, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has, of late, taken flak from Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's loyalists and indirectly from dissidents, said those who wanted to quit the party were free to do so, a stand he had expressed at party meetings too.
In fact, the party was taking stock to identify those whose loyalty was unquestioned and those who were untrustworthy in order to get clarity about its real strength.
Referring to the just-concluded visit of AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, he said only one group (Congress MLAs from Chittoor district) among the numerous delegations that met him had demanded a change of leadership. He had learnt this from Mr. Azad himself who had primarily come here to elicit the party leaders' opinion on Telangana.
The Chief Minister was asked about reasons for delay in filling the long-overdue vacancies to the posts of Assembly Speaker, Deputy Chief Minister, and in the Cabinet itself. He replied that the ball lay squarely in the Congress high command's court and hinged upon its decision on whether to continue or replace the APCC president. Once this was decided, other issues would fall into place automatically. A list of alternatives names (based on regional considerations) was ready.
Homework
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy held that he had a bit of homework to do in the image-building of his government by putting in place politically-savvy aides who could work out future plans. He cited his main achievement during his six months in office as curtailment of disturbance in the Congress over Telangana as well as in ending political uncertainty caused by Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's frequent threats to unseat his government.
The Chief Minister said the Congress government need not fear the prospect of holding elections to urban and rural local bodies once the dilemma over the reservations issue was resolved. “Win or lose, we will face them. I strongly believe that they will not have any impact on Congress' prospects in the general elections, though slippages and corruption in government programmes will. This is what curtailed our tally to 156 seats in the 2009 Assembly elections,” he added.
N. Kiran Kumar Reddy
It was an opportunity for the Congress to rebuild the party cadre in places where Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was strong.
Although the 5.43-lakh margin of the YSR Congress president's victory in the Kadapa by-election was unanticipated, the silver lining was the fact that the ruling party could nominate polling agents in all but 20 booths compared to TDP's 12 and Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's eight.
In a free-wheeling interview, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has, of late, taken flak from Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's loyalists and indirectly from dissidents, said those who wanted to quit the party were free to do so, a stand he had expressed at party meetings too.
In fact, the party was taking stock to identify those whose loyalty was unquestioned and those who were untrustworthy in order to get clarity about its real strength.
Referring to the just-concluded visit of AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, he said only one group (Congress MLAs from Chittoor district) among the numerous delegations that met him had demanded a change of leadership. He had learnt this from Mr. Azad himself who had primarily come here to elicit the party leaders' opinion on Telangana.
The Chief Minister was asked about reasons for delay in filling the long-overdue vacancies to the posts of Assembly Speaker, Deputy Chief Minister, and in the Cabinet itself. He replied that the ball lay squarely in the Congress high command's court and hinged upon its decision on whether to continue or replace the APCC president. Once this was decided, other issues would fall into place automatically. A list of alternatives names (based on regional considerations) was ready.
Homework
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy held that he had a bit of homework to do in the image-building of his government by putting in place politically-savvy aides who could work out future plans. He cited his main achievement during his six months in office as curtailment of disturbance in the Congress over Telangana as well as in ending political uncertainty caused by Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's frequent threats to unseat his government.
The Chief Minister said the Congress government need not fear the prospect of holding elections to urban and rural local bodies once the dilemma over the reservations issue was resolved. “Win or lose, we will face them. I strongly believe that they will not have any impact on Congress' prospects in the general elections, though slippages and corruption in government programmes will. This is what curtailed our tally to 156 seats in the 2009 Assembly elections,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment