Fall of BJP has begun: Congress

APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy on Friday said there was no political connotation to the shaking of hands between Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the swearing- in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Speaking at the ‘Meet the Press’ programme organised by the AP Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) here, Mr. Reddy said the Congress was gearing up to contest all the 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2019 elections in the State.

Ultimate aim

Mr. Gandhi’s ultimate aim was the defeat the NDA government and prevent Narendra Modi from becoming the Prime Minister again in the 2019 elections. With this aim in view, he had given a call to all the parties working against the BJP to join hands to bring down the incumbent government, Mr. Reddy said.

“As of now, there is no clear message from the leadership. We have started eliciting feedback from the grassroots level. We will send the feedback to the higher-ups in the party,” he added.

“It is too early to predict what sort of a coalition will be formed in Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Reddy added.

SCS issue

The APCC president said if the BJP did not accord Special Category Status (SCS) to the State, it would be part of the Congress’ manifesto.

Soon after formation of the UPA government under Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, SCS would be accorded to the State, he said.

“The fall of the BJP has begun. The outcome of the Karnataka elections and the by-election results clearly indicate that people are fed up with the anti-people policies and grandiose announcements of the NDA government,” he said. Training his gun on the YSR Congress Party, he said: “It is sad YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy prefers to hit the road than fight for people’s cause on the Floor of the Assembly,” he observed.

Dig at YSRCP

Stating that the YSRCP was dancing to the tune of the Modi government, he said the fact that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was never critical of the BJP or the Modi rule during his padayatra proved this beyond doubt.

“There is a tacit understating between the BJP and the YSRCP. Even the TDP has a soft corner for its former ally. The appointment of the wife of a Minister from Maharashtra to the TTD board proves this,” he said.