HYDERABAD: With the naming of YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as Accused No.1 in the charge sheet, the Telugu Desam is upping the ante against him. Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, in an interview to a vernacular TV channel, compared Jagan with Veerappan. Because of his criminal activities Veerappan too was popular in his area, Naidu said. For that matter, Gali Janardhan Reddy, accused in the illegal mining cases, too was popular in his state, Naidu said and appealed to people not to follow criminals.
Calling Jagan a money maniac, TDP leader A Revanth Reddy said on Sunday that the punishment would be less severe if Jagan surrendered himself. He also demanded that the government order a probe into the role of all “corrupt ministers” in the YS Rajasekhara Reddy governments. The Rs 1 lakh crore allegedly looted by the YSR family should be spent on public welfare, he demanded.
In Nellore, former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy wondered why the CBI did not arrest Jagan Mohan Reddy though it named him as A-1 and accused the central government of shielding Jagan. If the CBI arrested Raja, Kalmadi and others, why was it sparing Jagan, he asked.
The latest CAG report and reports of other constitutional bodies confirmed the irregularities committed by Jagan along with his father Rajasekhara Reddy, he said and added that Jagan should voluntarily surrender to the CBI before it arrested him.