APCC president Y. S. Sharmila has strongly reacted to the announcement made by YSRCP chief and former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy about launching another padayatra. Addressing the media in Vijayawada, Sharmila said the proposed march is driven purely by the hunger for power and nothing more.

She questioned what Jagan achieved when he already had a full term in office. She asked whether the Jal Yagnam projects were completed, whether the promises under Navaratnalu were fully delivered, and whether prohibition was ever truly implemented. Sharmila said people had given Jagan a clear mandate once, yet he failed to live up to the trust placed in him.

Sharmila also accused the former government of destroying Rushikonda and turning it barren. She remarked that Jagan rarely came out among people while in power and was not even accessible to leaders within his own party. According to her, power cannot be earned through announcements alone. She said a change in attitude and reduction of selfish politics are necessary before seeking public support again.

Questioning the timing of the announcement, Sharmila asked why publicity was needed now for a padayatra planned much later. She said such moves expose political desperation rather than commitment to public service.

Shifting focus to her own programme, Sharmila announced a statewide yatra from February 2 to protect the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. She said the march will begin from Bandlapalli in Singanamala constituency, marking 20 years since the scheme’s launch. She demanded continuation of the scheme and an increase in daily wages to ₹400.

Sharmila concluded by saying leadership is earned through accountability, not symbolism.