No going back to Cong, asserts Kiran

ANANTAPUR: Dismissing reports of his home coming, Jai Samaikyandhra Party (JSP) president and former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy made it clear that he will not join the Congress again.

Kiran Kumar Reddy, who kickstarted his Bus Yatra for the first time in Rayalaseema region from the spiritual town of Puttaparthi, said that there is no question of his return to the Congress fold.

His announcement came days after MP A Sai Pratap, who also quit the Congress and joined JSP, recently remarked that Kiran Kumar Reddy might return back to his parent party. Sai Pratap recently rejoined Congress.

Addressing roadshows at Puttaparti and Anantapur towns, Kiran Kumar Reddy, who still believes that the court will dismiss the AP State Reorganisation Bill approved by the Parliament at any time, sought the people to give their mandate to his party for keeping the Samaikyandhra struggle alive.

He alleged that the Congress party along with the support of the opposition BJP went ahead with passing the state bifurcation Bill in both the houses of Parliament violating all the constitutional procedures and as a result there is every scope for the Supreme Court to reject the state bifurcation.

Blaming the TDP and YSRC for state division, he said that both the party supremos N Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gave their consent to the Centre favouring the state bifurcation. He wanted the people not to fall prey to election sops announced by the two parties.

'While I come to you after resigning from the chief minister post resenting the way the Centre divided the state, TDP's Naidu and YSRC's Jagan are coming to you aspiring for the chief minister's post.

Both these leaders are not daring enough to raise the state bifurcation issue in their meetings as both of them expressed their support to the state division,' he said.

Fuming over the election promises of both Naidu and Jagan, he sarcastically said that the duo turned as 'all free babus' and are trying to influence the people in the name of giving everything free of cost.

'I will come to you soon with estimation of the funds required for fulfilling their promises and also about the actual annual budget of the residuary state of Andhra Padesh,' he said.

Recalling that people of Anantapur district came onto roads in lakhs expressing their protest over the state division, he sought them to give their mandate to the JSP in the Assembly and Parliament elections to keep the cause of Samaikyandhra intact.

'You are free to cast your vote for any party in the MPTC and ZPTC elections. But, we require strength in legislative bodies like Assembly and Parliament to put forward our demand for Samaikyandhra,' he maintained.

Reddy also condemned the attack on the party nominee at Khammam in Telangana region when the latter was going to file his nomination for the upcoming elections.

The JSP president announced P Ramesh Babu, Chiranjeeva Reddy as the party candidates from Puttaparthi and Anantapur Assembly constituencies during his roadshow.