HYDERABAD: The upbeat mood in the Congress seems to be evaporating. Ruling party leaders, who put on brave faces with CBI expediting the investigation into the Jaganmohan Reddy’s illegal assets case, are now anxious about the likely impact of the arrest of excise minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana. None other than the PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana is said to be unhappy about the arrest. Not willing to comment on the matter when the media is around at Gandhi Bhavan he, however, remarked, “How can I feel happy when my cabinet colleague is arrested?”Botcha, who cancelled his visit to Delhi, met chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy soon after the arrest of Mopidevi. The two discussed the political fallout. Soon after this meeting, the PCC chief called on governor ESL Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan. Then he rushed to Gandhi Bhavan and had confabulations with the AICC secretary KB Krishnamurthy over the political impact of the arrest. Later, he met some other leaders of the party at the Gandhi Bhavan. Sources said, the PCC chief discussed at length the impact of the arrest of Mopidevi on the electoral prospects of the ruling party in the ensuing bypolls. He is believed to have said that the excise minister’s arrest would not only tarnish the image of YSR Congress but also affect the electoral prospects of the ruling party to some extent. “But the negative impact on the Congress will be temporary. In the long run, the Congress will be the gainer as the arrest of the minister has sent a clear message to the public that the CBI probe is being conducted in an impartial manner,” he said. The PCC chief was of the opinion that though Mopidevi was arrested, he would be able to prove his innocence.
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