Not more than 250 for NDA, was my secret wish: Jagan

All set to take oath as Andhra Chief Minister on Thursday, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday revealed his secret wish and his prayer to God during the Lok Sabha elections -- don't give BJP and NDA not more than 250.

With the NDA touching 353 in a House of 543, Jagan said it would have been "wonderful" for the states if the NDA was restricted to 250 as his party has "very little it can do in demanding or commanding" when it comes to their plea for giving special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Jagan's comments came at a press conference here after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, whom he described as the "second most powerful person in the country" now, to raise his demand as well as invite them for his swearing in. YSR Congress has won 151 of the 175 Assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh.

"The fact is that the no is more than 340. Had it been 250, what I prayed for literally, it would have been wonderful for states...Unfortunately, the number is not 250. What we have is more than 340. Very little we can do in demanding or commanding," he said while describing his one-hour long "positive" meeting with Modi on the special status demand.

When asked whether his meetings with the top BJP leadership was about joining the ruling NDA, he said, "why do they need some one to join them. They don't need any of us. I prayed to God don't give them beyond 250. But unfortunately, God delivered an overwhelming majority to them. God gave our party also an overwhelming majority."

During the election campaign, it was speculated that BJP would approach parties like YSR Congress, TRS and BJD if it fell short of numbers. However, the numbers for BJP alone was 303 and its allies bagged another 50.

The YSR Congress chief said he knew Modi does not need his party's support but asked him to be "magnanimous, that he (Modi) was in a position to help andthat it is the time to exhibit magnanimity".

On questions about his meeting with Shah, he said after Modi, everybody knows that the BJP chief is the most powerful person and his meeting was to impress upon him about his state's needs.

As he explained why his state should get what it demands, he said he was happy that Modi listened to him and appeared positive to his demands but was aware that "these numbers have put the Centre at an advantage" with regard to Special Status for Andhra.

Asked whether he felt that Congress president Rahul Gandhi should step down, he said it was not right on his part to comment on the internal matters of a party that has lost the elections and that he should not be bothered about what is happening there.

On governance, he asked he will set up a "revolutionary government" which is transparent in its functioning and within six months to one year, he would ensure that the state stands as an exemplary example to others in the country. "We will not just clean up the system but show how it is being cleaned up," he said.

He said he is in a Catch-22 situation on the issue of Amaravati as capital, saying outgoing Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has "misled" people and accused him of using benamies to buy land there to sell it later for higher prices.