Cong sceptical of Jagan’s stance on CJP, SIR controversy

The Congress has ruled out the possibility of YSR Congress Party’s entry into the INDIA bloc, remaining sceptical of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s recent overtures to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and his statements expressing regret over his party’s support for the bill that gave live-long immunity to the chief election commissioners

The Congress has ruled out the possibility of YSR Congress Party’s entry into the INDIA bloc, remaining sceptical of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s recent overtures to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and his statements expressing regret over his party’s support for the bill that gave live-long immunity to the chief election commissioners. Some Opposition bloc constituents, however, have taken a positive view of Reddy’s position.

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According to a Congress strategist, who closely interacts with the INDIA bloc on various issues, said, “I do not see how Jagan Mohan Reddy can have a connection with the Congress. If he wants to support the CJP or express concern on the SIR, we have to take a cautious view as his party had consistently supported the BJP to pass bills and had even supported the delimitation-related Constitution amendment bill in April this year.”

He added that Reddy might be trying to leverage his position with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in alliance with the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh. On October 14, Reddy in a post on X said, “A proactive approach always yields better results than a reactive stance. The system has a flaw that needs to be corrected. Trust in the electoral process must be restored. The arrests of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka do not solve anything; it only aggravates the situation. I empathize with @SauravDassss and @AshutoshRanka.”

The rift between the Congress and Reddy dates back to the death of his father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, in a helicopter crash in 2009. Jagan was widely seen as the successor to the CM’s post, but the Congress appointed K Rosaiah instead. He later sought to undertake a rally across undivided Andhra Pradesh, but the party did not permit it, triggering his exit.

A second Congress leader pointed out that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 23, had filed petition in the Telangana High Court for “speedy and day to day trial and personal appearance of all the accused in Prosecution Complaints filed by ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and others.”

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby, however, differed with the Congress. “The tactics of the Union government is well-known. Without any substance or proof, people are being targeted and ED and CBI are behaving like caged parrots. We wanted everyone other than NDA to raise the issues related to vote chori (Vote theft). I even wrote to Jagan. Not that we will come in the INDIA bloc, but we are happy that YSRCP has taken a stand,” he said.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) pointed out that former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has kept her communications channel open with parties such as BJD, YSRCP and AAP—who don’t get along with the Congress. In her last press conference, Banerjee said these parties have state-level issues (with the Congress) but the INDIA bloc should be widened to include these voices.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, however, accused Reddy of double standards on election authorities. According to a PTI report, Naidu alleged that Reddy is using Genz as political paws for political gain; says support for constitutional authorities should not depend on political convenience.