Tuesday 29 May 2012

Jagan Mohan Reddy's bail plea adjourned to May 31

                                                                          
HYDERABAD: After spending Monday night in jail following the court's order of judicial custody till June 11, a special court on Tuesday adjourned hearing on YSR Congress party leader and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's bail petition to Thursday in a disproportionate assets case.

The CBI court admitted the fresh bail petition for hearing and directed the CBI to file a counter by the next hearing, IANS reported.

The court had on Monday dismissed Jagan's bail plea. He was sent to Chanchalguda Jail after being accorded special prisoner status.

The YSR Congress Party leader, in his fresh petition filed today, has sought bail on the ground that he wants to campaign for the party in the byelections.

Byelections to one Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats are scheduled to be held June 12.

Jagan's lawyers also sought permission from the Andhra Pradesh high court to file a petition challenging his arrest. With the vacation bench granting permission, the quash petition would be filed Wednesday.

Terming his arrest as illegal, Jagan has alleged that he was arrested only to keep him away from the poll campaign.

In another development, the CBI also sought permission to file a petition seeking Jagan's custody for 14 days. The investigating agency has moved the high court after the CBI court on Monday dismissed its petition.

Jagan was arrested by CBI in a disproportionate assets case on Sunday and was lodged in a Hyderabad jail yesterday after a court remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

EC not to intervene

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is understood to have decided not to intervene in the matter concerning the arrest of Jaganmohan Reddy, whose mother has sought his release in view of the coming bypolls in Andhra Pradesh, according to PTI.

The three-member Election Commission met today under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and discussed the letter from Y S Vijayalakshmi, YSR Congress honorary president, seeking a direction from the commission for her son's release.

Top sources in the EC said the commission was not in a position to do anything in this regard as the matter was sub- judice and a legal process was on.

The commission will make clear its position in a communication to Vijayalakshmi, they said.

Against this backdrop, Vijayalakshmi had written to the CEC pleading for his release so that Jagan could campaign in the June 12 bypolls to 18 assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh.

The party had also decided yesterday that she would lead the campaign in Jagan's absence.

Urging for conduct of free and fair elections, Vijayalakshmi had said, "I am writing this letter with great hope that you would kindly intervene (in the matter)...

"CBI arrested him (Jagan) on May 27, just 15 days before the by-elections...This is part of a larger conspiracy to deprive his participation in the elections with the sole objective of helping the ruling Congress candidates."
from Times Of India

Vijayamma's campaign from tomorrow

                                                                             
Taking over from where her son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has left, YSR Congress honorary president Y.S. Vijayamma will plunge into electioneering from Wednesday.
Ms. Vijayamma continued her fast at her Lotus Pond residence on Monday even as the Central Governing Council of the party held an emergency meeting to take stock of the decision. Attended by M. V. Mysura Reddy, Y.V. Subba Reddy and 20 others, the meeting appealed to her to call off her fast. Ms. Vijayamma broke her fast after former MLA Konda Surekha offered here lime juice.
She will launch her campaign from Narsannapet constituency in Srikakulam district on May 30 and tour Payakaraopet, Ramachandrapuram, Polavaram, Narsapur and Prathipadu constituencies till June 3.
As she has already hinted, her speeches would highlight the “conspiracy” hatched by the Congress and the TDP to get Jaganmohan Reddy arrested and raise doubts over the death of her husband, YSR, in a helicopter crash in 2009. The party leaders plan to bring the arrest of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy to the national level.
Earlier, in the day, Ms. Vijayamma, along with other family members, continued fast at her residence. Addressing the gathering at fasting camp, she said that in view of the demand from public who needed her leadership in the absence of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, she was calling off her fast. Roja and a number of leaders joined the protest.
from Hindu

YSRCP activists pin hopes on Vijayamma

                                                                                      
The partial bandh in the city was a shot in the arm of the YSR Congress party rather then a discouragement. Their logic being that the bandh observed was a spontaneous one because almost all the leaders of the party have either been confined to their homes are taken into preventive custody.
District convenor Samineni Udaya Bhanu who set course for Hyderabad in the early hours was arrested on the way. Barring former MLA Jaleel Khan who was campaigning in one of the assembly constituency that is set for by-elections the police has very successfully immobilised the entire party machinery in the city.
There was no destruction of property because of the timing of the arrest, but for the by-elections the destruction of property would have been severe according to party workers. Mr Jagan has been sending word through several leaders that there should not be any destruction or violence because that would have an impact on the voters in the bye-elections.
The party cadre have now pinned all their hopes Mr Jagan's mother Y.S.Vijayamma. They are hoping that Ms. Vijayamma would melt the hearts of the voters. While the earlier estimate was either 15 or 16 the arrest of Mr Jagan would tip the scales in favour of the party and that would result in it bagging all the 18 seats for which elections were being held. These were predictions released by none other than Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal.
Mr. Jagan was arrested only to prevent the Congress MLAs from leaving the party in hordes to join YSR Congress, the party cadres believe.
from Hindu

EC orders release of YSRCP leaders

                                                                          
The Election Commission (EC) has ordered immediate release of leaders and workers of political parties, including YSR Congress Party, arrested by the police under the Preventive Detention Act.
Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal told reporters here on Monday that he had issued the orders to that effect to Collectors who are district election officers, to ensure that all those taken into custody in the 12 districts where by-elections were being held to be set free forthwith.
The EC had taken this step, as indiscriminate arrests of leaders and workers of a political party although they did not commit criminal offences, would curtail campaigning. This would be violative of the code of conduct and would be potential enough to affect the free and fair elections.
The action by the EC is expected to give some relief to the YSRCP, hundreds of whose workers were arrested on Saturday-Sunday along with leaders at different places. On intervention by local election authorities in East Godavari district, P. Subhash Chandra Bose, YSRCP candidate in Ramachandrapuram Assembly constituency, was released. Sources said the CEO had issued the orders after consulting the Election Commission instead of addressing a letter to Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi as he had originally planned.
Mr. Bhanwar Lal said the situation in the 12 districts was peaceful with no untoward incident being reported from these areas. He said those organising bandh should not, in any way, obstruct campaigning by a candidate. The YSRCP was greatly relieved on another count, as returning officers in all the constituencies allotted “Ceiling Fan” symbol to all its candidates, as per the present rules which stipulated that the preference of sitting members must be respected while making symbol allotments out of EC's list of free symbols.
Meanwhile, 242 candidates remained in fray in the 18 Assembly constituencies after 25 candidates withdrew nominations on Monday, the last date for withdrawals.
 from Hindu

Jagan moves court for bail, mother seeks CEC's intervention

                                                                                  
YSR Congress chief and Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday moved the CBI trial court for bail in connection with the disproportionate assets case. Barring Jaganmohan Reddy and his close aide Vijay Sai Reddy, a special CBI court on Monday granted bail to 11 otherpeople accused of involvement in his illegal assets case.
All the 13 accused, including Jagan, as he is popularly called, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investiagtion (CBI) on Sunday night, appeared in the special CBI court in response to its summons over the first charge sheet.
Those who appeared in the court included senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer BP Acharya, who is already in jail for his alleged involvement in the Emaar-APIIC township case.
Jagan's auditor Vijay Sai Reddy was not granted bail.
Those who were given bail included managing directors Srinivasa Reddy (Hetero Drugs), Nityananda Reddy (Aurobindo Pharma), Sarat Chandra Reddy (Trident Life Sciences), AP Industrial Infrastructure  Corporation's former officer Y Vijayalakshmi, and Aurobindo Pharma's former company secretary Chandramouli.
The court summons on Jagan and 11 others were served May 14.
However, the CBI arrested Jagan on Sunday evening after questioning him for three days.
The CBI had filed the first charge sheet March 30. The second was filed April 23 and the third May 7.
The agency booked a case against Jagan and 71 others in August last year on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court.
The young leader is accused of conspiring with his father and then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy to dole out favours to companies which invested in his businesses in a quid pro quo arrangement.
The CBI also presented before the court leading industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and bureaucrat KV Brahmananda Reddy as their 10-day CBI custody ended Sunday.
The agency moved a petition seeking their custody for four more days. The court however, sent them back to Chanchalguda Central Jail.
The court on May 16 had remanded them in judicial custody till May 30.