There was some relief for the Congress on Tuesday when MLC YS Vivekananda Reddy put aside all talks of his joining ranks with nephew Jaganmohan, who has left the party after a bitter rebellion.
Vivekananda Reddy, who is former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s (YSR’s) younger brother, reaffirmed his faith in the Congress leadership under Sonia Gandhi and said he would remain in the party.
However, in the early part of the day there was some commotion as Vivekananda Reddy told some TV channels waiting outside the venue of a family gathering in Kadappa that he would "retire". Just before Vivekananda Reddy’s statement, his host told the same channels that the former and Jaganmohan had got together.
Both Jaganmohan and Vivekananda Reddy attended the gathering.
But minutes later, reportedly after a phone call from New Delhi, Vivekanada Reddy called a press conference where he said that he would not quit politics and accept a ministerial berth under Kiran Kumar Reddy.
He also denied Jaganmohan’s allegation that the Congress was trying to divide the family. He said that he had decided to follow in the footsteps of his elder brother YSR by remaining in the Congress till his last breath.
{{/usCountry}}He also denied Jaganmohan’s allegation that the Congress was trying to divide the family. He said that he had decided to follow in the footsteps of his elder brother YSR by remaining in the Congress till his last breath.
{{/usCountry}}"I went to New Delhi on my own to meet Kiran Kumar Reddy and Congress leader M Veerappa Moily. Neither did the high command invite me, nor did it lure me with a ministerial post. If aspiring for a cabinet berth is a mistake, I apologise for it," said Vivekananda Reddy, a former MP from Kadappa.