YSR Congress party in-charge of north Andhra affairs and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board chairman Y V Subba Reddy on Tuesday admitted that he had indeed gone to the residence of YSR Telangana party president Y S Sharmila a couple of days ago.
He was reacting to a report published in Andhra Jyothy Telugu daily that YSRCP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had sent him to meet his sister to prevail upon her not to enter Andhra Pradesh politics, as it would adversely affect the image of the YSR family and also the YSRC prospects in the state.
While admitting that he had gone to the residence of Sharmila at Lotus Pond in Hyderabad, Subba Reddy denied the reports that he had carried a message to her from Jagan.
“I went to her house only to meet Jagan’s mother Vijayamma, after a gap of one month but not as Jagan’s emissary,” he said.
The former TTD chairman defended his meeting with Vijayamma and Sharmila, saying they were his family members.
“Don’t I have the right to meet my own family members? Why should it be seen in political angle?” he asked.
Subba Reddy said he had no information whatsoever about Sharmila joining the Congress party.
“In fact, during the Telangana elections itself, there was a talk that she would be joining the Congress. So, there is nothing surprising about it,” he said.
Stating that there was no harm to YSRCP even if Sharmila joined the Congress, the senior YSRCP leader said Jagan would come back to power for a second successive term riding on the welfare and developmental programmes being implemented in the state.
On the defection of some party leaders, Subba Reddy said they were leaving the party only on personal grounds.
“The party is compelled to drop some MLAs and denying tickets to some others only due to prevailing circumstances in their constituencies. We are trying to convince them to stay back in the party,” he said.