Party greater than individuals, says Congress

NEW DELHI - The Congress is greater than individuals, spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi said Monday, as Andhra Pradesh MP Jaganmohan Reddy quit from parliament as well as the party saying he had been humiliated. His mother Vijayalaxmi also resigned from the party and from the state assembly.

“It is their decision. The party has nothing to do with it. They must have perceived the pros and cons but I would like to say emphatically that the Congress is greater than individuals,” Congress general secretary Dwivedi told reporters here.

Jagan, son of the late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), wrote a hard hitting letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying that attempts were made to send him out and damage his father’s image. YSR died in a helicopter crash 14 months ago.

The Kadapa MP, however, appealed to his followers among the party’s state legislators not to resign.

Congress MP V. Hanumantha Rao Monday said Jagan’s resignation would have “no effect” on the Congress in Andhra Pradesh as the party was “very strong”.

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