YSR Congress authorises Jagan Mohan Reddy to decide on presidential poll

HYDERABAD: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) today authorised its jailed leader and Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to take a decision on its stance over the upcoming Presidential election.

A meeting of the party MLAs, office-bearers and other leaders here, chaired by YSRCP Honorary President and Jagan's mother Y S Vijaya Lakshmi, passed a unanimous resolution to this effect.

YSRCP has 17 members in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, one of them Vijaya Lakshmi, and two Lok Sabha MPs, including Jagan.

Both Presidential candidates, Pranab Mukherjee of UPA and Opposition-backed P A Sangma, have sought the support of YSRCP in the July 19 elections.

Addressing the gathering, Vijaya Lakshmi asked the party cadres to be prepared to face local body polls in the state which may be conducted soon, party sources said.

Maintaining that her husband, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and Jagan had done no wrong, she expressed confidence that her son, who is in jail in connection with an alleged disproportionate assets case, would come out unscathed. "I am confident that justice and righteousness would triumph."

Briefing the party leaders about her recent visit to Delhi, accompanied by MLAs and other leaders, during which she met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and various other national leaders, she said they responded positively to the issues raised by her.

She said she raised the "failure" of Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh in providing relief to farmers in the state by way of providing compensation for crop losses and minimum support price for their produce and also the alleged vindictive attitude of CBI towards Jagan.