Jagan followers firm on Warangal yatra

The Congress high command has not yet decided whether to allow the Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, to undertake his ‘Vodarpu’ tour in Warangal to console families of those who died after the demise of his father, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

The tour is scheduled to start from May 28 and there is deep division among Telangana Congress leaders on whether it should be allowed or not.

Mr Jagan was closeted with his loyalists on Wednesday and also contacted his political mentor, Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, who had met AICC leaders, Mr Veerappa Moily and Mr Ahmed Patel, to get their green signal for the tour.

Sources said both the leaders are expected to brief the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, after which the high command will reveal its stance.

An AICC functionary told this correspondent that the high command was displeased that the state leadership allowed the issue to become a major controversy. “We are in a Catch 22 situation,” said the leader.

Meanwhile, an MLA from Guntur and a supporter of Mr Jagan, said that if the tour was prevented, the Kadapa MP would lose face. “If the high command yields to this kind of threats, no leader from Coastal and Raayalaseema areas will be able to tour Telangana region in the future,” he said.

At the same time, some Congress MPs and a few MLAs from Telangana region have even threatened to resign if the tour is allowed to take place “against the wishes of Telangana people.”

Meanwhile, Yadagiri, a labourer of Butchannapet mandal of Warangal district, committed suicide on Wednesday, allegedly saddened by the objection of some leaders to Mr Jagan’s tour.