Jagan to take mom to meet Sonia on yatra

Now that his Odarpu yatra has been derailed at least temporarily, the Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, is planning to go on a “sentimental yatra” to Delhi to meet Congress president Ms Sonia Gandhi and get her approval to resume his aborted yatra.

Mr Reddy, who returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday night, was closeted with his family members and well wishers till midnight. On Wednesday, he held discussions with MLAs close to him and with MP, Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao.

According to sources, Mr Reddy is keen to resume his Odarpu yatra from June 8, from Srikakulam district, but only after getting the go-ahead from the Congress party in Delhi, which had directed him to abandon the yatra last week.

In an interesting development, the Majlis chief, Mr Asaduddin Owaisi, met Mr Reddy on Wednesday and according to sources advised him to fall in line with the party's wishes and adopt a wait and watch policy.

There were rumours on Wednesday that Mr Reddy was going to resign both his Lok Sabha seat and his membership of the party and take up the Odarpu yatra, but this was denied by sources close to him.

It is fairly certain, though, that the Reddy clan, including Mr Reddy’s mother, the MLA, Ms Vijayalaxmi, will be going to Delhi to try and meet the Congress president.

Mr Reddy has told his supporters that he has met the Congress political secretary, Mr Ahmed Patel, and the law minister, Mr Veerappa Moily, and explained his position with regard to the Odarpu yatra and the incidents in Warangal district on May 28, but he feels a meeting with Sonia Gandhi to give her the “real picture”, is essential. “Let me see her reaction and direction to me, I will go according to that,” he told his supporters.