Kadapa, December 26: Former Congress MP Jagan Mohan Reddy and his uncle and agriculture minister YS Vivekananda Reddy fondly fed each other Christmas cakes on Saturday, triggering speculation that they have patched up their differences and that the uncle was willing to ditch the Congress and join the nephew’s party.
While Vivekananda Reddy called a special press conference later in the evening to deny any such intentions, the development was in keeping with the guessing game going on in the Congress. In recent days, Congress MLAs and ministers have been supping with Jagan and dining with the government, keeping the high command flummoxed about which way they will jump at crunch time.
Vivekananda’s speculated rapprochement came about on the morning of Christmas, with Jagan driving to his father-in-law C Gangi Reddy’s house, to be joined there by his uncle and family. This was the latest of several patch-up meetings arranged by members of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s extended family since the two parted ways.
The discussions, rendered convivial by the yuletide spirit, went on for about 20 minutes in the presence of family elders including Jagan’s mother Vijayamma. The family entreated the duo to close the rift in the family and keep the spirit of Rajasekhara Reddy alive.
Footage of the get-together and visuals of the uncle feeding a piece of cake to the nephere and vice versa set off rumours that Vivekanada Reddy had agreed to join Jagan’s party in return for a promise of either the Kadapa Lok Sabha or the Pulivendula Assembly seats.
When mediapersons besieged Vivekananda after the meeting, the minister got testy: “Don’t I have a right to celebrate the festival with my family? Why do you want to attach political motives to it? What do you want me to say? What kind of journalism is this,” he snapped. By evening, alarmed by the speculation, the minister called a press conference to protest his abiding faith in Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party.
He admitted there has been pressure from relatives to sail with Jagan, but today’s gettogether was only a Christmas tradtion at the family estate in Idupulapaya. Vivekananda also announced his intention to stay away back from family gatherings henceforth so that it would set to rest any speculation.
He also denied reports that Sonia Gandhi spoke to him today.
–Agencies