Jaganmohan’s resignation will not affect us, says Congress MP

NEW DELHI - Congress leader V. Hanumatha Rao Monday said the resignation of party MP Jaganmohan Reddy will have “no effect on the Congress” in Andhra Pradesh, adding that the party was “very strong”.

Rao, a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, said only a few people close to Jaganmohan may quit following his resignation, but that will not affect the party.

“In the Congress party, nobody will go against the Congress. Few close people (to Jaganmohan) may resign… no effect on the Congress party,” Rao told a TV channel.

“Congress is very strong,” he added.

Jaganmohan, son of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy or YSR, resigned from the Congress and from parliament Monday. Jagan’s mother Vijayalakshmi also quit the Congress as well as her Andhra Pradesh assembly seat.

YSR died in a helicopter crash in September last year.

Rao said Jaganmohan should not have gone against the high command as his future was in the Congress party.

“Most people who left the party are nowhere,” Rao said.

Rao also said Jaganmohan wanted to show his strength by resigning. “He wants to show his strength. We will show Congress’ strength.”

Asked about the challenges faced by the Congress in the wake of demands for a separate Telangana state, Rao said: “Telangana is a sentimental issue. We have seen the by-election results.”

In a hard hitting letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Jaganmohan Reddy, popularly known as Jagan, said he was pained over the attempts to create a rift in his family.

He alleged that he and his family were insulted by the party on several occasions since the death of his father and he had no other option.

The Kadapa MP, however, appealed to state legislators backing him not to resign.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters in Delhi that he had no “information on the matter so far”.

The office of the Lok Sabha Speaker also said there was no “official intimation about Jagan’s resignation (from parliament)”.

Sources said it was not clear if Jagan would float a new party.