Hyderabad, February 03: Who is operating behind the scenes to broker a deal between the Congress and the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) to save the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in case it is dragged into trouble by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy? According to informed sources, Union minister of state for defence M M Pallam Raju was among those drafted by the Congress leadership to draw the PRP comes into its embrace.
Interestingly, it was Pallam Raju’s boss, defence minister A K Antony, who flew down to Hyderabad for Monday’s meeting with PRP chief K Chiranjeevi and not the Congress general secretary in charge of AP affairs, Veerappa Moily.
The overtures to Chiranjeevi have evoked a mixed reaction. Antony reportedly proposed merger of the PRP with the Congress as his preferred option. In return, the PRP would get three berths in the state Cabinet while Chiranjeevi would be accommodated in Delhi via the Rajya Sabha. According to sources, Chiranjeevi was not comfortable in dealing with Moily, who is seen as a supporter of former MP Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is reportedly trying to split the PRP.
Incidentally, it also suits chief minister Kiran Kumar to have someone other than Moily to handle the deal. Pallam Raju is seen to fit the bill.
The low-profile minister hails from East Godavari, belongs to the same community as Chiranjeevi and happens to be a school chum of Kiran Kumar.
Meanwhile, PRP legislators continued confabulations on the proposed deal. Differences of opinion emerged among them on the question of merger with the Congress. Some of them feel that it would do more harm than good if they join the government as those not inducted into the Cabinet might go over to the Jagan camp. Chiranjeevi, however, seems to be of the view that holding together a small party like PRP while out of power might be difficult and, therefore, a merger might be prudent.
Speculation is rife that the Congress might crack the whip on some party MLAs sailing with Jagan. It is said to have identified MLAs who stand little chance of getting reelected. It plans to use the disqualification weapon against them.
–Agencies