Chandrababu Naidu playing dirty, instigated my sister against me: Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday accused his rival, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, of “playing dirty” by “influencing” his sister, YS Sharmila, to contest elections in the state against him. Sharmila heads Congress’s Andhra unit, which is contesting Lok Sabha and assembly elections against TDP and Jagan’s YSRCP.

In an interview with Times Now, Jagan was moved to tears when asked about fighting polls against his estranged sister. Accusing Naidu of being hand-in-glove with Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Jagan said: “TDP head remote-controlled Revanth and my sister. My familial relations (with Sharmila) are disturbed due to TDP.”

Jagan said he had implored his sister to pick any profession other than politics, but she was ‘influenced’ by rivals who exploited the fissures in the family. When asked why he blocked his sister from joining politics, Jagan said: “I don’t prefer family-run politics… how many members will opt for politics?”

Congress is projecting Sharmila as the daughter who deserves the legacy and inheritance of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. When asked how his mother is coping with the friction among the siblings, Jagan dodged the query, saying: “Politics is not just about contesting, it is about delivering to people.”

Claiming that YSRCP will sweep the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Jagan said both NDA and INDIA bloc were ‘insignificant’ in the state. When asked to choose between PM Narendra Modi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi at a national level, Jagan said his support will be issue-based and not specific to an individual.

Jagan said while he backed the PM’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, he disagreed with him over his views on the minorities. On Rahul, he said: “Given the history I have with Rahul… I was sent to jail by them. So, my opinion of Rahul cannot be unbiased.” He blamed Congress and Telugu Desam Party for trying to malign his family’s reputation when he was sent to jail for 16 months in the disproportionate assets case registered against him by CBI.

Jagan also blamed erstwhile UPA govt for promising ‘special status’ for Andhra Pradesh but stopping short of turning it into an Act. He said this allowed BJP a chance to deny special status to Andhra Pradesh.