JAGAN TO ANNOUNCE HIS OWN POLITICAL PARTY ?

JAGAN DURING HIS ROAD SHOWS

        The war of words between the Congress in Andhra  Pradesh and Y. S.     Jaganmohan Reddy is hotting up with both sides not missing an opportunity to go for the other.

Within 48 hours of former Kadapa MP Jaganmohan announcing the launch of a new regional party in the state and making serious allegations against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the Congress launched a blistering counter-attack.

Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman T. Tulasi Reddy alleged that Jaganmohan had begun lobbying for the chief minister's post even before the body of his father, the late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, had been brought to Hyderabad.

"Such a person is talking about values in politics! It is like the devil quoting scriptures," Reddy said.

The Congress leaders particularly targeted Jaganmohan for his massive wealth which they claim had been illegally amassed in the last six years. Reddy said several stories were doing the rounds about Jaganmohan's ill-gotten assets.

"He owns a palatial bungalow in Bangalore and another one in Pulivendula (Kadapa), while a similar bungalow is coming up in Hyderabad. If he can amass such huge assets as an MP, what would become of the state if he becomes the chief minister," Reddy said.

He also questioned the way Jaganmohan had taken out his ' Odarpu Yatra' following his father's death. " Paying condolence is supposed to be a solemn affair. Nobody would go to call on the bereaved families with trumpets blowing and drums beating.

Jaganmohan's yatra was like an invasion, not a condolence tour," Reddy said.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao said Jaganmohan owed an explanation to the people as to how he had earned so much money in the last six years. " What was his business in 2004 and what was his income? How could Jaganmohan - who paid ` 8 lakh in income tax in 2004 - end up paying ` 84 crore in advance tax for the first six months of the current financial year? Even top industrialists like Mukesh and Anil Ambani took years to reach this stage," Rao said.

Retorting to Congress criticism, Jagan loyalist Bhaskara Reddy said: "When the entire nation was mourning Indira Gandhi's assassination, Rajiv was hurriedly made the Prime Minister. Was it not politics over a dead body?"