YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders have accused Y S Sharmila, the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), of misusing her family name ‘YS’ to create confusion among the people. Senior party leader S Ramakrishna Reddy, who serves as the advisor (public affairs) to the YSRCP government in the state, expressed disappointment with Sharmila’s recent speeches and criticized her for allegedly making a fool of herself.
Reddy, addressing reporters, stated that Sharmila’s choice of words and tone after taking over as the APCC chief and the manner in which she addressed her brother, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, have left party leaders feeling dismayed. He emphasized that there is no room for confusion and criticized Sharmila for misusing her family name to create unnecessary discord.
Reddy expressed pity for Sharmila, highlighting her sudden emergence in Andhra Pradesh after her political experiments in Telangana. He reminded her that the YSRCP, the same party she now represents, had allegedly jailed her brother Jagan Mohan Reddy for 16 months and implicated her father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in corruption cases.
According to Reddy, Sharmila altered her accent, tone, and tenor to allegedly imitate the speeches of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, suggesting that her goal may be to support Naidu’s bid for chief minister and split the votes of YSR supporters.
Reddy expressed concern that Sharmila’s attacks on her elder brother have hurt party activists, and he questioned her sudden emergence in Andhra Pradesh’s political scene after her time in Telangana. He also highlighted Sharmila’s alleged labeling of Jagan Mohan Reddy as a dictator, despite her earlier support for him during his imprisonment.
Other YSRCP leaders, including former TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy and Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy, criticized the Congress party for its role in dividing united Andhra Pradesh. Vijayasai Reddy suggested that the people of Andhra Pradesh have learned not to trust the Congress, comparing it to trusting a snake.
