Hyderabad, Sept 26 :
That the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) founder president, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, does not have any command over the ranks has been proved for the umpteenth time.
The latest being the presence of the Bhuma couple, Mrs Sobha Nagi Reddy, MLA and member of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the PRP, and her husband, Mr Bhuma Nagi Reddy, former MP and an active member of the party, besides the PRP MLA, Mr Katasani Rami Reddy, at the Friday’s meeting got up at Nalla Kaluva near Nallamala forests in Kurnool district to condole the former chief minister, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. It was widely speculated among the political circles that the Friday meeting was organised only to display the strength of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, popularly known as Jagan, in order to make him closer to the power. (Mr Jagan is the forefront runner for the chief minister’s gaddi after his father, Dr Rajasekhara Reddy, died in the copter crash on September 2).
The attendance of the Bhuma couple at this meeting along with their large scale of supporters has certainly caused ripples among the PRP circles here. The argument by the couple that they attended the condolence meet at their personal level in view of their proximity with the late leader’s family does not go well with the party leadership. The party seniors point out that the couple had not taken the permission of at least the senior leaders, let alone from the party president, to attend the meeting. “Being a member of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), Mrs Sobha Nagi Reddy, should have at least obtained the permission of Mr Chiranjeevi to attend the programme. Given the importance of the meeting as it was said to have been organised to display the strength of Mr Jagan to the Congress High Command, the Bhuma couple should have been cautious,” is how the PRP seniors argue.
Thus, the seniors are mounting pressure on the PRP leadership to call for an emergency meeting of the PAC to discuss this issue. “If we do not discuss the matter in the PAC and will not take suitable action it will send wrong signals to the cadre. At least others should know that such matters are taken seriously by the leaders,” they say. However, the Bhuma couple feel that the issue is blown out of proportion by the media. “We have attended the meeting at our personal level. There is no need to make so much fuss about it. We have not passed any comments either on the party president or on any other leader,” they say.