New Delhi:
It's a sign perhaps of how many fires the Congress is fighting - for now, the party will has decided not to penalise Jagan Mohan Reddy for the full-frontal attack launched by his TV channel against both the PM and Sonia Gandhi.
Congress sources say that till the Winter Session of Parliament ends, Jagan is safe. The Union government has to figure out how to end the stand-off with the Opposition - both Houses have been adjourned every day in this session of Parliament over the Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the 2G scam. The government says a JPC is not required; the BJP says it will not bend on the issue.
The crisis in Delhi means that the remarkable dissidence shown by Jagan Mohan recedes into the background. On Friday, Jagan's Sakshi TV aired a program that criticised the Congress' senior-most leaders. A rerun of the same show aired without the controversial parts. The TV channel's management has said that Jagan was in no way involved with the show.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah is in Delhi meeting with senior party leaders including Veerappa Moily, who heads the Congress' Disciplinary Committee. On Monday, Moily described the Sakshi TV controversy as a very serious matter.
Rosaiah is no stranger to attacks from Jagan, who has reportedly yet to make peace with the Congress' decision to appoint Roasaiah as Chief Minister after Jagan's father, YSR, died in a helicopter crash last year. (
Read: Rosaiah loses cool with Jagan supporters)
Over the last few months, Jagan has openly defied orders from the party's leaders in Delhi, who asked him to cancel his odarpu yatra - described by Jagan as a consolation tour to meet families who were profoundly affected by his father's death. The road trip was more of a show of strength by Jagan orchestrated to prove that for voters, he is the heir apparent to his father's political legacy. Thousands lined up to greet Jagan, and several Congress MLAs ignored party warnings to accompany him when he visited their constituencies.