Unmask The Conspirators Of Attack On AP Leader Of Opposition: Mekapati

Former Nellore MP and senior YSR Congress party (YSRCP) leader Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy flew hammer and tongs at the Chandrababu Naidu government for trying to propagate a false narrative with regard to the murder attempt on AP Leader of Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He said that the murderous attempt was made as part of an elaborate plan and the entire conspiracy needs to be probed and the plotters of this heinous act exposed. Who is behind this? he questioned. The people of Andhra Pradesh need an answer to this all important question, Rajamohan Reddy said.

"How could Chandrababu Naidu absolve his government of responsibility claiming that the airport area was under the jurisdiction of the Central government?" the senior YSRCP leader posed this searching question. He took exception to the AP DGP's hasty and irresponsible statement that the attack was a result of a craze for publicity on the part of the assailant, Srinivasa Rao.

The senior YSRCP leader also said that the tone and tenor of the AP Chief Minister, his colleagues in the cabinet and TDP MP Kesineni Nani were highly objectionable. The attempt of the TDP government to portray YS Jagan's attacker as the mass leader's fan is highly condemnable, he said.

Rajamohan Reddy said that when AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu went to Delhi it was hoped that he would take up pressing matters relating to the State such as Titli cyclone relief funds and other major problems. However, it appears that the Chief Minister is more pre-occupied with trying to forge a political alternative to the BJP. There has been no mention of cyclone-related matters or benefits that are meant to accrue to the State. It is plain to all that Chandrababu walked out of the NDA purely for political reasons and while he listed out the failures of Prime Minister Nrendra Modi, he conveniently seems to have forgotten the promises he made to the people of Andhra Pradesh, not one of which has been fulfilled.

The YSR Congress party on the other hand, Mekapati asserted, had been waging a tireless battle for justice to the State on a variety of issues including Special Category Status, Visakhapatnam Railway Zone, a petro-chemical complex at Visakhapatnam, the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor and the Kadapa steel plant among other things. After being in alliance at the Centre and the State with the BJP for four years and having settled for a financial package then, Chandrababu is now trying to project himself as a champion of SCS to AP, Mekapati said.

Chandrababu Pleading With Other Parties For Help From IT Raids, An Insult To AP: Dharmana

Senior YSRCP leader Dharmana Prasada Rao criticized Chandrababu for the manner in which his government and propaganda networks were trying to play down the attack on AP Leader of Opposition and YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Prasada Rao said that Chandrababu claimed innocence and that he was falsely being accused in this matter. The senior YSRCP leader said that there is a simple solution to this--Chandrababu Naidu can get himself cleared if he is really innocent by appointing a third party agency to probe the attack on YS Jagan.

Dharmana cricticized AP DGP RP Thakur for pronouncing his conclusion and asked as to how the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the matter could arrive at the truth when it comprised the DGP's subordinates who cannot express an opinion at variance with that of their boss. The senior YSRCP leader also tore into Chandrababu Naidu for the irresponsibility he demonstrated by announcing straight away that the attacker was a fan of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and that his murderous assault was a part of Operation Garuda.

Dharmana wondered whether this was the manner in which a responsible Chief Minister ought to behave in a serious incident involving an attempt on the life of the Leader of the Opposition. He took serious objection to TDP MP Kesineni Nani's foul-mouthed comment that TDP workers would have made Kheema of YS Jagan a long time ago had they wished to do so. Dharmana demanded that Kesineni Nani be sacked by Chandrababu Naidu forthwith for such objectionable and unparliamentary talk.

The senior YSRCP leader also wondered why Chandrababu Naidu was rattled about Income Tax raids and reminded the AP Chief Minister that the law does not make a distinction between the rich and the poor, the weak and the powerful. If one is truly transparent with respect to one's financial transations, one would get a clean chit from tax agencies and otherwise, one would have to pay penalties. Further, if the money seized by the tax agencies cannot be accounted for, it would go into the coffers of the government and therefore where was the need to get jittery about IT raids, he questioned.

Chandrababu Naidu is bringing the State of Andhra Pradesh into disrepute by pleading with other political parties to save him from the Centre's IT raids, Dharmana said. He criticized the AP Chief Minister in very strong terms for lacking the minimum dignity his office demanded by at least calling up the Leader of Opposition, on whose life there had been a serious attempt.

Also Read: TDP Workers Would Have Made Kheema Of YS Jagan: Kesineni Nani