CLP `chooses’ Rosaiah for Delhi nod

Hyderabad,Nov 27: True to the Congress culture, the Kadapa MP, Mr Y S Jaganmohan Reddy,who is an aspirant to the post of the Chief Minister, has been made to move the resolution at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here on Friday leaving the decision to AICC president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi,to announce the CLP leader in the State.After a two-hour-long meet held at the Old Hall of the Assembly that ended at 4 p.m on Friday, the Union Finance Minister and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, told the media that the CLP decision has been conveyed to the party supremo, Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the official announcement of the “election of Mr Rosaiah as its leader” will be made after the AICC president clears it.Besides Mr Mukherjee,the Union Law Minister and AICC general secretary, Mr Veerappa Moily,who is the Andhra Pradesh Congress Affairs Incharge, was the central observer for the selection of the party leader in the House.The one-point resolution proposing the name of K Rosaiah as the Congress Legislature Party leader was moved by Y.S Jagan himself.

His proposition was ritually seconded by a posse of Ministers including Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah,Tribal Welfare Minister P. Bala Raju,Roads and Buildings Minister D.K Aruna, Panchayatraj Minister Botsa Satyanarayana and Chief Whip S Sailajanath.Coming out of the House after the election of the leader,Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told  newsmen that Rosaiah’s election was ‘unanimous’ with the support of 150 MLAs and 49 MLCs. It was attended by 29 MPs.Earlier, the House moved and adopted an obituary resolution recalling the services of the late Dr.Y S Rajasekhara Reddy whose accidental death in a copter crash had necessitated the election of the CLP leader.The house also observed a two-minute silence in honour of the departed leader.A separate resolution was passed expressing the CLP's heartfelt condolences to the two pilots, the Chief Security Officer and Principal Secretary who were killed in the helicopter crash along with YSR on September 2 .

A third resolution was passed mourning the death of people in the unprecedented floods in the Krishna in the first week of October this year.Mr. Mukherjee was flanked by Mr. Rosaiah and Mr. Jagan when he addressed the waiting media on the Assembly premises immediately after the CLP meeting. It is understood that the Congress leader later briefed Ms. Sonia Gandhi over phone about the developments in the State Legislature.