Andhra CM to offer prayers in Israel

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy along with his family is headed to Israel for a pilgrimage tour after the grand success of his party in the elections.

Mr Reddy and his family, the Chief Minister's Office said, will visit Israel and also Jerusalem during the week-long holiday trip-cum-pilgrimage.

The family will tour several Christian holy sites and will also offer thanks-giving prayers before returning to Hyderabad on May 31.

Mr Reddy, a Christian, will be joined by his wife Vijayalakshmi, his son and daughter and their family members. Reddy's first pilgrimage was to Bethlehem in 2004 after he got elected as the chief minister of the state.

With the completion of a full five-year tenure, Reddy was once again last week sworn in for a second consecutive term. He became the only one chief minister to have completed a full term in AP.

The Congress Party there won 33 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats and 156 seats in the 294-member AP assembly.