Reddy said the Congress leadership has failed in accepting the people's verdict and making course corrections.
Published Apr 07, 2023 | 2:12 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 07, 2023 | 8:32 PM
Kiran Kumar Reddy joined the BJP at an event in New Delhi. (Screengrab)
Almost a month after sending a single-sentence resignation letter to AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress leader and the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, joined the BJP on Friday, 7 April.
Reddy took BJP membership a day the saffron party had inducted Anil K Antony, son of the former Union defence minister AK Antony, into its fold.
Union Minister Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi welcomed Reddy to the BJP at an event organised at the party’s headquarters on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in New Delhi.
After receiving the membership, Reddy lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and slammed the Congress leadership for failing to accept the people’s verdict and making course corrections.
“They believe they are correct and all others, including the people of India, are wrong,” he said.
Citing his family’s over six-decade-long association with the Congress, Reddy said he never imagined he would leave the party.
N Kiran Kumar Reddy with Rahul Gandhi when the former rejoined the Congress in 2018. (Supplied)
His father Amarnath Reddy was a minister in the PV Narasimha Rao-led Union government in the 1990s.
“Unfortunately, what has happened is, in state after state, due to bad decisions and wrong decisions of the Congress high command, the party is getting damaged totally in all the states,” he said.
Commenting on the state of affairs in the Congress, Reddy compared the party led by Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi to the rule of “an intelligent king who neither thinks on his own nor listens to anybody’s advice”.
“They want authority to control but they don’t want to work hard. They don’t want responsibilities,” said Reddy.
Reddy contrasted the rise of the BJP with the decline of the Congress since 1984, and lauded the ruling party’s leaders led by Modi for their hard work and commitment towards the nation.
“They have clarity of thought and consistency, and taking courageous decisions is the hallmark of the government,” he said.
Reddy also lauded Modi’s commitment to fighting corruption.
Welcoming Reddy, Joshi said, “He will strengthen our fight against corruption because his image as an MLA and minister has been clean”. He added, “It will be a big boost for the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.”
While introducing him, Joshi dubbed Reddy “an important leader from South India”. He recollected that Reddy had been the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the chief whip and the chief minister at a very crucial time’ in the history of the southern state, referring to the 2014 bifurcation of united AP into Telangana and AP.
On 11 March, Reddy sent a letter to the AICC president announcing his resignation. “Please accept this letter as my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian Nation Congress,” the single-sentence letter read.
Incidentally, Reddy had resigned from the Congress earlier as well. He resigned in 2014, protesting against the then United Progressive Alliance government’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy was then the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. He succeeded K Rosaiah.
He had then floated a party, Jai Samaikyandhra, and fielded candidates in the 2014 elections — and all of them lost their deposits. He rejoined the Congress on 13 July 2018 after dissolving his party.
Reddy had maintained a low profile ever since, and speculation over his joining the BJP was rife when he did not join the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra.
(With PTI inputs)
