The Congress on Wednesday sought to call the bluff of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has said its government in Andhra Pradesh is continuing as being a gentleman he has not asked MLAs supporting him to resign, saying gentlemen do not issue threats and if they do they carry them out.
“Gentlemen do not issue threats in the first place and if they do, they carry out their threats,” party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters, giving enough hints that the party views the threat by the rebel leader as an empty one.
Mr Reddy on Tuesday demonstrated his clout in New Delhi by bringing two Congress MPs and 23 MLAs on his side during a one-day protest fast here on a water dispute issue.
“Currently I am doing a favour to the Congress Party because if my MLAs resign, the government there will fall. Had I wanted, I could have done it a long time ago. I am a gentleman. So I am doing a favour to the Congress party,” he had said the other day.
The Congress has 155 MLAs in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly and its government can come under pressure if the 23 MLAs withdraw support.
Mr Singhvi, though sceptical on the number of MLAs present in Jagan’s programme, sought to put such party leaders on tenterhooks, saying, “Appropriate action will be taken at the appropriate time keeping in view all aspects and our larger strategy for the state.”
But in Hyderabad, chairman of the Congress’ AP disciplinary committee K. Satyanarayana Raju on Wednesday said: “Appropriate action would be taken at an appropriate time. There is no question of sparing those who violated party discipline.”
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Cong T-MPs submit letter
AGE CORRESPONDENT
new delhi
Jan. 12: Congress MPs from Telangana on Wednesday reiterated their earlier demand that a separate Telangana state should be formed. The MPs also submitted a letter to the Congress high command demanding a separate state.