TDP State president K. Kala Venkat Rao on Saturday wrote an open letter to YSR Congress (YSRC) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy questioning whether his wife Bharati was not the director in 10 companies (formed between 2005 and 2011) which were under the scanner of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
He said the interrogation of Mr. Jagan, Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy and others in connection with the alleged floating of suitcase companies for money-laundering was an open secret.
Mr. Rao said there was no point in slinging mud at the TDP and media houses which reported that the ED had requested the CBI special court to proceed against Ms. Bharati on charges of money-laundering, and casting doubts on the investigating agencies.
“What is wrong in filing cases against your family members who benefited from your corrupt deeds,” Mr. Rao asked.
He said Mr. Jagan appeared to doubt the credibility of courts which would not order his arrest without any evidence of wrongdoings.
He questioned why the cases had been pending in the Supreme Court for the last four years if Mr. Jagan had not struck a bargain with the BJP and why he made Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy a Rajya Sabha member if not for the sake of lobbying with the powers that be.
‘Secret understanding’
The secret understanding between the BJP and the YSRCP was noticeable from the resignation of the YSRC MPs just before the TDP had moved the no-confidence and from the YSRC’s conduct during the election of Vice-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
“Mr. Jagan had come out after a nearly 16-month stay in jail with the blessings of the Congress. Is he not dancing to the tunes of the BJP now to wriggle out of the slew of cases haunting him,” the TDP leader asked.
Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu demanded that Mr. Jagan should make it clear whether his family was involved in the corruption cases instead of trying to earn public sympathy. He sought to know whether the attachment of properties worth ₹43,000 crore by the ED was not true. “It is because of Mr. Jagan’s conduct his family is facing troubles,” he said.
‘No moral right’
Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said Mr. Jagan Mohan had no moral right to accuse the TDP leaders of harassing him. Addressing the media here, he alleged that at the behest of Mr. Jagan’s father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, 25 cases had been filed against TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
“YSR had even constituted 11 House Committees, four Cabinet sub-committees and ordered five inquiries and one CBCID inquiry to harass the TDP leader. Despite all this, Mr. Naidu had come out without a blemish,” Mr. Rao said.