Former Speaker of Lok Sabha P.A. Sangma, who was here to muster support for his candidature in the Presidential election, failed to meet YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy in Chanchalguda jail as the authorities denied him the permission on Monday.
Accompanied by his son James Sangma, an MLA in Meghalaya, Mr. Sangma arrived at the prison around 9 a.m. and sought permission to meet Jagan. He reminded them of the letter he had written ten days ago in this connection. However, the jail authorities denied him permission on the ground that the nature of his visit was “political”.
Mr. Sangma later called on Y.S. Vijayamma, honorary president of the YSR Congress, at her residence and sought the support of her party which has two MPs, including Jagan and 17 MLAs in the electoral college.
Talking to mediapersons, he took serious exception to the action of the jail authorities. Recalling that an MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi was allowed to meet Jagan in jail for seeking his party’s support for UPA’s Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee, he said a different yardstick was being applied in his case although he held a high constitutional office in the past.
“When I visited the jail in the morning, a junior officer informed me that the jailor had not yet reported for duty and advised me to return between 11 a.m. and 12 noon. When I was getting ready in the hotel to visit the jail for the second time, the authorities informed my son that my meeting with Jagan was not permitted,” Mr. Sangma explained.
He alleged that permission for his ‘mulaqaat’ with Jagan would have been cancelled possibly at the instance of the State government and Union government authorities. He said he could not meet TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao as he was out of the city.
YSR Congress leader M.V. Mysoora Reddy told reporters that the Political Affairs Committee of the party would take a decision “as soon as possible” on its stand for Presidential election after consultations with Jagan.
