Vijayawada, March 7 : Congress' Andhra Pradesh President Y.S. Sharmila Reddy turned emotional on Thursday after taking a pledge along with other leaders and cadres to dedicate their lives to achieve special category status to the state.

Addressing party workers at Mangalagiri, Sharmila broke down while explaining that she entered Andhra Pradesh politics and joined the Congress as it is the only party committed to accord special category status.

Ater taking the pledge, along with senior leaders and hundreds of party workers, she made it clear that the lives and careers of state Congress leaders and the cadres were dedicated to fighting and achieving special status for the state.

According to the pledge, every Congress activist, cutting across cadres, with the entire state standing as the witness, would continue to fight for the special status till their last breath.

Sharmila Reddy, sister of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, came down heavily on the ruling YSR Congress, and also the BJP and the TDP, for "deceiving" the people of Andhra Pradesh.

"All three parties today stand in the dock for playing with the sentiments of the people and backstabbing them without remorse. The pledge taken by us today will rattle their spirits and shake their morale," she said.

"For the parties that are bent on widening the divide among people, in the name of caste and religion, Congress serves this message loud and strong - special status is the only caste or religion for the 5.5 crore people or the state. Congress will continue to fight with an indomitable spirit and expose the sham of these parties, in front of the entire nation," she added.

Several activists and supporters also turned emotional on seeing tears in Sharmila Reddy's eyes. She also choked for a while when she spoke about the plight of the youth in the state. Senior Congress leaders, Pallam Raju, J.D. Seelam, G. Rudraraju, and Sunkara Padmasri were present on the occasion.

/IANS