Hyderabad: The YSR Congress Party did an about turn Thursday on its reported decision to make Jagan Mohan Reddy its lifetime president after the Election Commission called out the move as inherently anti-democratic.
The party said it was merely a “wish” of YSRCP leaders to give the Andhra Pradesh chief minister that post, but it ultimately did not materialise.
The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the YSRCP to publicly clarify media reports that Jagan had been appointed a lifetime president of the party in its July plenary.
The Commission said any organisational post of a permanent nature was anti-democracy.
YSRCP leader and Andhra Pradesh Government Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said the final resolution to appoint Jagan as lifetime president was never passed. It was just a “wish” and “intention” of party workers expressed in the annual plenary, following which a resolution was adopted, Reddy said, adding, the move was “immediately rejected by Jagan”.
Sajjala said Thursday, “There seems to be some confusion. In the party plenary, all party leaders proposed the idea of a lifetime president and the plenary adopted a resolution. But our party president Jagan Mohan Reddy rejected it and he said the party’s democratic mode of operation should continue… he also questioned party leaders on why this was done.”
“It was our (party’s) wish to see Jagan Reddy as permanent president since he launched the party. It was our ‘intention,’ which never materialised because our party president rejected it. So, we did not inform the EC. However, in February, our party amended the rule on internal polls to be held every five years. We told the EC about that,” he added.
At its annual plenary in July, attended by Jagan, the YSRCP had unanimously elected him as lifetime president. The move, however, did not get an EC nod.
In its Wednesday order, the Election Commission noted that multiple reminders were sent to the party seeking a clarification on Jagan’s lifetime presidency as reported in the media.
The EC order said: “The Commission categorically rejects, any attempt or even a hint of any organisational post being of permanent nature being inherently anti democracy. Any action which denies the periodicity of elections, is in complete violation of the extant instructions of the Commission. If not categorically contradicted, it has the potential to create a confusion in other political formations of such a move (which is widely reported in the Press) being condoned by the Election Commission of India and in turn can assume contagious proportions.”
The poll body also said the YSRCP had confirmed the matter came out in the media and that they had launched an internal inquiry on it. The party also assured it would take action after the fact-finding exercise.
When questioned about the need for the inquiry, Sajjala said YSRCP never passed the resolution in the first place and hence the EC was not informed about it.
“The resolution died a natural death when our leader (Jagan) rejected it, so we did not inform the EC. And this clarity must be given to the EC. So, we thought we would internally discuss it and then tell them,” he said.
Sajjala said Jagan, who was elected president in the July plenary, will hold the post for five years, followed by fresh internal elections.
Also read: EC asks YSRCP to clarify reports of Jagan Reddy becoming party’s permanent president