New Delhi: First, he said, in what was seen as a gesture of defiance, that his tour of Andhra Pradesh would continue. Now, Jagan Mohan Reddy says his party has sanctioned the controversial "odarpu yatra."
Reddy, son of former Andhra chief minister YSR Reddy, met with senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily in Delhi on Tuesday morning. Reddy claims that Moily expressed "appreciation" for his tour and permitted the tour to resume. Congress sources say the permission comes with some basic guidelines, including staying away from the politically-sensitive Telangana region.
The Congress has been worried about the impact of the tour in the fraught atmosphere of Telangana, where the demand for a separate state repeatedly leads to violent demonstrations. Jagan Mohan has expressed his opposition to the creation of a new state.
Last week, as he arrived at the Warangal district, pro-Telangana campaigners clashed with the police as they expressed their opposition to Jagan's arrival.
The Congress had asked Jagan Mohan to cancel his tour. He was summoned to Delhi on Monday to explain his position.
Jagan's defence: that he "is not conducting this tour as a politician", and that his heart "is free of any guilt'. The MP expressed his hope for a meeting with Sonia Gandhi - a meeting that did not materialize, in what some say was a sign of the party's disapproval of his stance. Jagan Mohan, however, told reporters, "I have huge respect for Sonia Gandhi. Please do not turn this into a stand-off between the party and me."
Jagan says that after his father died in a helicopter crash in September, he promised to visit families whose members died or killed themselves reportedly out of grief over YSR's loss.
The stand-off with the Central leadership seems to have ended for now. But Jagan seems to be in no mood to mend fences with his father's successor and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah, whom he has soundly criticized for his handling of the situation.
After meeting Moily, Jagan said, "Basically, if something goes wrong, I don't perceive Rosaiah to be a threat. What I feel bad about is that (there were) 30 people in one room and 100 others outside stone pelting...there was not a single cop guarding that room and the TRS members were given a go-ahead for stone-pelting, it is not humane."
He had earlier said, "I am in Delhi to tell the high command...in who I have a lot of faith...about the event that took place. That is the most important thing that I should be doing. I have nothing to do with Rosaiah. It is my faith and my affection towards Madam that is primarily important. It wouldn't make any difference to me whether it is Rosaiah or anyone else. The way Rosaiah handled the situation is not acceptable," he said.
Jaganmohan says he will resume his yatra on June 8 with a trip to embark on his yatra to Srikakulam in Coastal Andhra Pradesh . He plans to tour Telangana after by-elections are held in the region in August.