VIJAYAWADA: Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav has launched a scathing attack on former chief minister and YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, alleging that he could never be portrayed as a victim and was instead facing serious allegations in multiple cases.
Addressing a joint press conference along with BJP MP C M Ramesh in Vijayawada on Saturday, Payyavula criticised Jagan’s recent comments and accused the YS family of introducing factional and criminal politics into Andhra Pradesh.
Keshav alleged that Jagan was attempting to portray himself as a ‘good person’; through what he described as ‘self-certification.’ Referring to the murder case of former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy, the Finance Minister alleged that efforts were made to project the axe attack on Vivekananda Reddy as a heart attack.
Claiming that the people of the State were fully aware of the developments in the Vivekananda Reddy murder case, Keshav accused Jagan of spreading falsehoods even on sensitive issues.
The Minister further alleged that the YS family pioneered factional politics and criminal culture in Andhra Pradesh. He claimed that Jagan’s grandfather Raja Reddy institutionalised factional violence in Rayalaseema and expanded personal rivalries into organised political operations.
Recalling an incident from 1989, Keshav alleged that houses belonging to TDP supporters in Parnapalli village of Pulivendula constituency were blasted with dynamite after the village voted heavily in favour of the TDP. He said the people of Rayalaseema had not forgotten the incident.
Keshav announced that they were planning to publish a detailed book documenting alleged incidents of violence, factionalism and political murders associated with Raja Reddy’s period in Pulivendula.
The Finance Minister credited Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu with bringing factional violence in Rayalaseema under control after becoming Chief Minister of the united Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that it took nearly three decades to contain the factional culture initiated by the YS family.
BJP MP C. M. Ramesh described Jagan as an ‘actor and criminal’ and alleged that he was now trying to project himself as a messenger of peace to divert public attention from criminal allegations.