Accompanied by thousands of supporters, former Congress MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy arrived in the capital Tuesday and began a daylong fast in a show of strength that included two Congress MPs to highlight the woes of farmers and protest the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal ruling on the sharing of river waters. Jagan, along with about 3,000 supporters, reached Delhi by a special train Tuesday morning and went straight to Jantar Mantar, the 186-year-old observatory in central Delhi, to begin the protest amid the chanting of slogans.
A large stretch of Parliament Street, was blocked off by his supporters, with a dais built in the middle of the road for the fasting leaders. Jagan, as he is popularly known, sat on the dais, surrounded by other Congress members, including two MPs Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy from Nellore and Sabbam Hari from Anakapalli.
Besides, 26 legislators of the state's ruling Congress party and two each from Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam Party were there too. Jagan resigned from the Congress and his Kadapa parliamentary seat after accusing the party leadership of trying to divide the family by luring his uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy with a ministerial berth in the Andhra Pradesh cabinet. Jagan has been on a collision course with the Congress since the leadership rejected his claim to the chief minister's chair following the death of his father, the late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in a helicopter crash Sep 2, 2009. He moved the Election Commission last week for registering his newly-floated political party.
Last month, nearly two dozen legislators shared the dais with Jagan when he undertook a 48-hour fast at Vijayawada, demanding compensation for farmers who lost their crops in the recent untimely heavy rains. It is believed that Andhra Pradesh has not got its due in the Krishna Waters Tribunal Award.
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