For YS Jagan, Ethics Means Doing The Right When You Have The Power To Do The Self-Serving Thing

Amaravati: YRS Congress Party under the aegis of its chief and the leader of the opposition in Andhra Pradesh is known to be a party with immense political values and morale which respects democracy. The leader himself is a firm believer and practises value based politics. In the current political scenario if any person wants to join the YSR Congress Party, he has to resign or relinquish all old posts and entitlements they are enjoying till date. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made this very emphatic in context to certain party members who had earlier contested on a party ticket, but eventually defected to the opposition party in 2014 elections.

Clearly sounding the bell to all the party members and the aspirants before the Andhra Pradesh and Lok Sabha Elections which are on the anvil, the message reads that there is place only for aspirants who have high political morals and integrity to be a part of the YSRCP.

It may be recollected that SPY Reddy who contested the Nandyal Lok Sabha elections on a YSRCP ticket joined the Chandrababu Naidu led TDP as soon the latter’s victory. Following that, two more MPs followed suit. Chandrababu Naidu went on to buy 23 MLAs for a sum ranging from Rs 30 to Rs 40 crores in a bid to eliminate the opposition from the state and invited them not only to join his party, he also gave four MLAs a berth in his cabinet.

The TDP supremo has no regard for democrats who are questioning his unethical practises which are against the principles of democracy at the same time talks about upholding the same values which he himself has failed to uphold. When the Telangana TDP MLAs switched parties and joined the TRS party, he raised hue and cry about it, but indemnified himself from any issue when he bought over the 23 MLAs by using the Speaker's powers in this whole episode.

It may be recalled that during the 2017 Nandyal By-elections, the TDP ordered MLC Silpa Chakrapani Reddy to resign from his MLC post and the party membership before he could join the YRSCP and it had hardly been three months since he was elected as an MLC, but YS Jagan Mohan Reddy respected the rule that if one has to change a party, he has to relinquish all titles and posts, which reflects his high political standards. He requested Silpa Chakrapani Reddy to resign, which the MLC did willingly.

Recently, when Rajampeta TDP MLA Meda Mallikarjuna Reddy expressed his desire to join the YSRCP, YS Jjagan clearly instructed that he should first resign from his post, party membership and then join the party, which Mallikarjuna Reddy is already in the process of doing.

Political and democratic critiques and analysts are praising YS Jagan for his political values in not trying to grow his party in numbers through politics of buying out MLAs or MPs, but asking them to show their integrity by resigning from all past posts and memberships thus paving the way for a holistic democracy.

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