YSRCP flays TDP for 'violence' in Andhra, says BJP depends on its MPs for passing bills in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Ousted from power in Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress on Wednesday sent out a cautionary reminder to the BJP that the central government will need the support of its 11 MPs in Rajya Sabha to pass bills while attacking the ruling party's allies, TDP and Jana Sena Party, for targeting its sympathisers.

Speaking to reporters here, senior YSR Congress leaders flayed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena for allegedly unleashing violence on their party's sympathisers following the decimation of the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led party in the assembly polls. They complained to President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday over the issue and sought her intervention to bring the guilty to the book. The TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance swept the assembly polls by winning 164 seats in the 175-member assembly, reducing the incumbent YSR Congress to a paltry 11 seats.

The YSR Congress Parliamentary Party's letter to the President, however, kept the BJP out of its criticism. The leader of the YSR Congress in Parliament, V Vijayasai Reddy, noted that his party may have lost power in Andhra Pradesh but it continues to have a total of 15 MPs in both Houses against the TDP's 16. He said, "Please remember that the BJP, the central government needs our support to pass bills in Rajya Sabha. There should be no doubt. We are as strong as the TDP even though we have lost power in the state." He acknowledged that the NDA government depended crucially on the TDP's support for survival, while adding that his party's numbers in Rajya Sabha will play an important role as well.

The YSR Congress has 11 MPs in Rajya Sabha where the BJP-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) does not have a majority and has often depended on unaligned regional parties like it and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to push its parliamentary agenda. Reddy, however, indicated that his party remains open to extending issue-based support to the BJP-led NDA government if the matter is in the interest of the country and Andhra Pradesh. "Whenever or wherever the state is going to benefit and whenever it is in the interest of the country, issue-based support will be extended to the central government for smooth governance. We are a patriotic party," he said. The TDP has 16 MPs in Lok Sabha but none in the Upper House.

Asked about his party's stand on the election for the Lok Sabha's Speaker, expected to be held on June 26, he noted that the NDA enjoys a majority in the House and its candidate is bound to be elected. The YSR Congress has four MPs in Lok Sabha. To a question about the regional party's stand on the BJP's key agenda items like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and 'One Nation, One Election', he said its president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has already made it clear that it is opposed to the UCC. His party is yet to take a decision on the issue of simultaneous elections, he added.

Another senior YSR Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP YV Subba Reddy alleged that his party's sympathisers have been subjected to government-sponsored violence in the state, adding that the TDP-Jana Sena cadres began attacking them soon after their poll win. The YSR Congress is also bringing the issue to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he added. To a question about the party's rout in the assembly polls, V Vijaysai Reddy said they are in the process of reviewing the reasons for this "debacle".