YS Sharmila merges YSRTP with Congress, ready to take up any responsibility

NEW DELHI: YS Sharmila, daughter of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhra Reddy merged her party YSRTP with the Congress in the presence of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge at the Congress headquarters here on Thursday.

Rahul Gandhi and Kharge offered her Congress scarves and invited her to the party.

Later addressing media, Sharmila said that she would work hard to ensure that Rahul Gandhi would become Prime Minister of India. “I am happy merging YSRTP into Congress today. YSRTP would be a part of the Indian National Congress now and it will not be a separate entity anymore,” Sharmila said.

Remembering her father Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, she said that the legendary leader served Congress and gave his life serving the Congress. “Today it would give him great joy as his daughter has joined the Congress. Congress is the largest secular party in our country that always upheld the true culture of India, built our nation, and served all communities uniting all sections of people,” Sharmila noted.

Sharmila said as a Christian, it pained her a lot that large-scale cruelty took place in Manipur where 2,000 churches were vandalised and 60,000 innocent people were displaced. “That kind of cruelty I can't digest. That was the day I thought that this is what would happen if a secular party was not in control at the Centre,” she said adding that Congress would uphold the freedom of all sections of people,” Sharmila said.

She pointed out that Rahul Gandhi gained the immense confidence of the public with his Bharat Jodo Yatra which resulted in victory in Karnataka and a domino effect in Telangana. “That is why we stayed away from the election in Telangana not to break the anti-KCR vote. Today Congress won and we contributed a part in it,” she said.

Sharmila said that her father always wanted to see Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister. She said she would take up any responsibility given to her either in Andaman or Andhra Pradesh she would discharge it with due diligence.

When asked whether she would take responsibility for leading the party in Andhra Pradesh, she said that she would work in any position that the party asked her to take up. She clarified that the party would take a decision on her role within a couple of days.