Jagan loyalists trying to whip up sympathy wave?

HYDERABAD: When the CBI search team arrived at Jagan Mohan Reddy’s house in Jubilee Hills, only his mother, wife and children were there. In their spirited defence of Jagan, his supporters tried to derive emotional mileage from that fact"The CBI officials did not care that Jagan Mohan Reddy was not around. They searched the house inch by inch including the prayer room and the bathrooms,” said Allagadda legislator Bhuma Shobha Nagireddy.Away in Krishna district for his Odarpy Yatra, the Kadapa MP himself showed no signs of being flustered by the CBI raids. He went about his routine of unveiling his father’s statues and accusing the Congress of showing disrespect to his father, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who had done so much for the party.YSR Congress Party leaders sought to use the raids to whip up the proverbial sympathy wave for their MP but away from the cameras, they wondered whether the Supreme Court will stay the investigation soon enough to save the MP from the tough questions that are in store for him.It was only on Wednesday that Jagan sued for a stay in the Supreme Court. His appeal is yet to be admitted in court. So YSRC leaders are worried that their leader will be asked searching questions before a stay materialises.“The investigation is going to be a torture for us. CBI personnel ask tough questions and are not easily convinced. We have to be mentally prepared, figuring out what questions they may ask and be ready with the answers,” speculated an important YSRC leader.“The CBI appears to be in a hurry to get at our leader since they are afraid the Supreme Court might grant a stay,” one senior leader said.Party managers worked hard on Thursday to make a virtue out adversity. They organised rasta rokos and dharnas, and appeared on TV speaking eloquently how Jagan Mohan Reddy has become a victim of Congress’ wily politics.“Had Jagan remained in the Congress, he would have been a Raja, but since he left the party, he’s being subjected to such treatment,” said MLC J Prabhakar Rao.Added Ambati Rambabu, the YSRC spokesman at large: “The people are mentally disturbed by such treatment of Jagan.” Off the record, however, YSRC leaders articulated their worries. With elections three years away, the benefits of a sympathy wave may take long to fructify.