Rahul Gandhi tries to wash off ‘anti-YSR’ scar on Congress

Congress distances itself from besmirching Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, seeks voters' support for Sharmila Reddy in Kadapa.

For the first time in a decade, the Congress party has made an overt attempt to not only distance itself from the oft-made criticism of besmirching the image of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, but also to drive home the point to the voters that it had no role in getting his name included in the CBI charge sheet after his demise.

Party star campaigner and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to Kadapa parliamentary constituency on May 11, made it a point to visit YSR Samadhi at Idupulapaya and pay respects at his grave.

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Addressing a mammoth public meeting in Kadapa in support of APCC President Y.S. Sharmila Reddy, who is also the party nominee for Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, Mr. Gandhi insisted that the party was not behind getting YSR’s name included in the charge sheet.

“The Congress will do nothing to damage the reputation of its own Chief Minister. It was done by someone who wanted to derive some benefit by adding his name”, he said, without going into the details.

Mr. Gandhi called Dr. YSR as a close associate of Late Rajiv Gandhi and hailed him as a fatherly figure.

“When I missed my father, Dr. YSR used to act as a mentor by asking me frequently to reach out to the public”, he said. He also called YSR’s famous Padayatra as a source of inspiration for his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.