Weeks after resigning from the Congress, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday. Reddy, who was the last CM of United Andhra Pradesh, before the formation of Telangana on June 2, 2014, also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and slammed the leadership of the Congress party for its inability to accept people’s verdict and make course correction.
The four-time MLA had quit the Congress last month sending a one-line resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, marking his exit from the grand-old party for the second time. He had rejoined the party five years ago earlier.
He was inducted in the saffron party in the presence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.
Citing his family’s over six-decade-long association with the Congress, Reddy said he never imagined he will leave the party.
“They want authority to control but don’t want to work hard and don’t want responsibility,” he said at the press conference.
“They don’t know who should be assigned what job for the party to go forward. A true leader is someone who understands the problems of the state and assigns the problems to relevant leaders so they can do course correction in the state,” he added.
Lauding the BJP, Reddy contrasted the rise of the BJP with the decline of the Congress since 1984, and said that the BJP leaders have clarity of thought and consistency, and taking courageous decisions was the hallmark of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
On Thursday, Anil Anthony, son of Congress veteran and union defence minister AK Anthony, joined the BJP, after he resigned from the Congress party in January following controversy over his tweet on the BBC documentary.