Botsa slams Naidu, Jagan for No Trust motion

Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana on Wednesday slammed YSR Congress Party president Jagan Mohan Reddy and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for the No Confidence Motion against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to protect their  political interests.

Talking to media persons at Gandhi Bhavan, Botsa Satyanarayana said that the MLAs supporting Jagan Mohan Reddy did not turn up for discussion on drought during the assembly session and were now shedding `crocodile tears’ on farmers’ issue. He said that Jagan Mohan Reddy had reportedly assured the MLAs that he would bear the by-election expenditure.

The PCC chief said that there was no need for the Congress party to lure the Jagan group MLAs with coercive or blackmail methods as being alleged by them. Instead, he said that Jagan Mohan Reddy might have offered money to 16 MLAs to make them defy the party's whip. Responding to a question on him collecting the signatures supporting Jagan's candidature for the Chief Minister's post after the demise of YSR, he said “this clearly shows how much respect I had for the YSR family members.” “In a democracy, the legal heirs of YSR cannot claim the Chief Minister’s post after his death," he added.

Responding to the demand of Jagan to disqualify 16 MLAs for violating the whip, Botsa said the party was not in a position to listen to his advise and would take a decision at an appropriate time. He said that both Jagan and Chandrababu Naidu dreamed that Kiran Kumar Reddy Government would collapse with the introduction of No Trust motion. However, the motion has cost their plans dearly, he said.