CBI questions Jagan Reddy for second day

                                                                                 
For the second consecutive day on Monday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned jailed YSR Congress Party leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy for alleged corruption. The CBI, given the MP's custody for five days, took him from Chanchalguda Central Jail to its office at Koti, three

kilometers away. The questioning took place in the presence of Jagan's lawyers. Jagan was questioned for over six hours Sunday at the office of the director general of prisons near the jail.
There were some anxious moments for CBI officials as the convoy carrying Jagan got stuck for some time in the traffic at Nalgonda Cross Road.
The agency wants to know from Jagan the investments that flowed into his companies between 2004 and 2009 when his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.
The businessman politician allegedly got the investments as bribe for the favours doled out by the government to investors in the form of land, licenses and other concessions.
The CBI believes a part of the bribe money was sent abroad to what are known as "paper/briefcase companies" and routed back into Jagan's firms through hawala.
The funds were pumped in by some companies based in Luxembourg and Mauritius.
Jagan allegedly received investment of Rs. 1,234 crore in his cement, power and media companies.
Jagan was arrested by the CBI on May 27. The next day the CBI court sent him to judicial custody till June 11.
from Hindustan times  

Jagan in jail, sister steps in to campaign Sharmila Reddy

                                                                                          

 Her father died in his prime. Her brother needs her to campaign for him. And she hasn’t said no.

On Thursday, she just went out and hit the road.

No, it wasn’t the dusty battlefield of Amethi but faraway Andhra. And the young woman at the centre of all the attention was the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s daughter Sharmila.

The 34-year-old has been canvassing for her brother Y.S. Jaganmohan’s party since May 31, hitting the campaign trail four days after a court sent her 39-year-old sibling to judicial remand in an assets case.

Smart and articulate, she introduced herself as “YSR’s daughter” and Jagan’s “younger sister”.

A former Congress minister couldn’t help drawing a comparison with another — though more famous — younger sister, whose father’s life too had been cut short in his prime.

“Sharmila will do a Priyanka for Jagan,” said K. Ramakrishna.

Priyanka Vadra, who is younger than Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, had campaigned for her brother in Amethi and also during the last Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Sharmila, who has a clean image, didn’t take long to hit it off with the crowds when she campaigned with her mother Vijayalakshmi for the June 12 bypolls to 18 Assembly seats and one parliamentary constituency.

“My brother is innocent and new to politics, attracted by the avenues available to serve the people,” she told a cheering crowd during one of her speeches as she toured West and East Godavari.

That was after she had introduced herself, saying: “I am YSR’s daughter, Jagan’s younger sister. My name is Sharmila.”

After Jagan’s arrest on May 27, Sharmila’s campaign was the first big boost for the YSR Congress. 

She didn’t disappoint with the punch lines, too, using the style of her late father who had guided the Congress back to power for a second term in Andhra before his death in an air crash.

“It’s high time we bring back Rajanna rajyam (YSR rule) and make Jagananna the chief minister,” she told the crowd.

When YSR campaigned, his speeches invariably ended with a reference to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. “It’s high time we bring back Sonia rajyam,” he would say.

Former minister and YSR Congress candidate Pilli Subhaschandra Bose said he would like Sharmila to campaign even if Jagan was released on bail. “She has a formidable following among youths and women,” he added.

“If it comes to campaigning, we would rather have more of Sharmila than Jagan,” said a campaign manager at Rajahmundry town.

But Sharmila’s focus was her brother. “My brother will walk out from jail victoriously and fight for you. He will solve all your problems just like my father did,” she said.

When YSR was alive, he always considered Sharmila’s presence a good omen. “Where is my motherly daughter,” he would say.

In a Facebook post, he said his “lovely daughter” filled him with “happiness” by “telling that my victory was not guaranteed by the leaders but by the people who need me most”.

Sharmila is married to evangelist Anil Kumar, who has been accused of misusing government machinery in launching himself as an alternative to another televangelist, K.A. Paul.

A company owned by Kumar is also alleged to have benefited from land grants, which were later cancelled by governments that succeeded YSR’s.

‘Leaders loyal to High Command are let off'

                                                                              

Y.S Vijayamma, honorary president of the YSR Congress Party, turned the heat on Congress by questioning the motives behind letting off former Chief Minister K. Rosaiah facing ACB probe into allegations over land allotment in Hyderabad.

Addressing a massive public meeting here, Ms. Vijayamma alleged that Rosaiah and many other leaders had been let off as they had been loyal to the Congress High Command.

During her speech, she sought to clarify allegations against Jaganmohan Reddy. She said that Jagan had been an industrialist even before 2004, managing Sandur Power Plant and Saraswati Power Plants in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Jagan had sold a majority of shares in Bharathi Cements, which were in no way concerned with extracting any benefits from the Government.

``Did my son ever visit the Secretariat? Did my son ever contact any official? He had not even visited the camp office even once during the period in which YSR was CM.'' Ms Vijayamma said.

It was Y. Sharmila, daughter of Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy, who hogged the limelight at the roadshow cum public meeting held at Prathipadu main road on Sunday evening.

‘Conspiracy'

With the trademark wave of her left hand, so strikingly similar to YSR, Ms. Sharmila struck an instant chord with the milling crowds who filled up all the roads leading to the main centre.

Hitting hard against Congress and Telugu Desam, she alleged that two parties had conspired to engineer the arrest of Jagan and ultimately crush the YSR Congress Party. They had used the CBI as a tool to further their interests, she said.

Amidst cheers from people, mostly women, Ms Sharmila appealed to people to ensure victory of Jagan in the people's court.

Party leaders Ravi Venkata Ramana and Marri Rajasekhar and candidate M. Sucharita were present
from Hindu

Vijayamma says Jaganmohan Reddy will be triumphant in people's court

                                                                                          

Asserting that Y.S Jaganmohan Reddy would come out unscathed from the ongoing trial in the disproportionate assets case, YSR Congress Party honorary president Y.S. Vijayamma said on Sunday that her son would be triumphant in the “people's court.” She urged people to give their mandate in a convincing manner.

Emotional connect

Addressing a well attended roadside meeting at Veldurthi, Ms. Vijayamma sought to make an emotional connection with the people who braved the scorching heat to attend the meeting.

The parched landscape, the searing heat, and the backwardness of the Palnadu region was so similar to Rayalaseema, and it was here that Jaganmohan Reddy made a sensational allegation on May 21 that a conspiracy had been hatched to arrest him. Jaganmohan Reddy was finally arrested by the CBI on May 27.

The Veldurthi mandal was the only mandal in the Macherla segment left uncovered during the election campaign undertaken by Jaganmohan Reddy.

The YSRCP president wound up his campaign at Karampudi village and left for Hyderabad on May 24.

Before leaving for Hyderabad, he said his mother would take over the campaigning in the event of his arrest by the CBI.

Making an emotional pitch in support of her son, Ms. Vijayamma and her daughter Sharmila launched an all-out attack on the Congress and the Telugu Desam, blaming them for the ongoing turmoil in the State.

“I have lost my husband. My son is in jail. He has been missing his family for the last nine months, as he is hounded by the CBI, which itself is playing into the hands of the Centre. I came here to seek your support. The whole nation is watching these elections,” Ms. Vijayamma said.

She also recalled the attachment Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had with the district. She mentioned about the Pulichintala and the Anupu lift irrigation projects.

from Hindu

Azad blasts Jagan for making a fuss of his arrest

                                                                                         

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has taken serious exception to the charges levelled by YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy against virtually everyone for framing him.

He pointed out that the investigation was initiated by the High Court and nobody should blame the judiciary.

Mr. Azad, who is on a visit to the State to campaign for the by-election, addressed a well-attended public meeting at the Indira grounds here on Sunday, where he made a scathing attack on Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy. “You blame the Congress, the investigation agencies, the media and even the judiciary. Should the whole world keep its eyes shut when you go on making thousands of crores of rupees through corrupt means?” Mr. Azad said. Pointing to the arrest of former Chief Ministers Madhu Koda (Jharkhand) and B.S. Yeddyurappa (Karnataka), former Union Ministers Suresh Kalmadi, A. Raja among others, irrespective of whether they belonged to the Congress, its allies or opposition parties, a visibly-enraged Mr. Azad wanted to know why Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was making a fuss of his arrest. “When so many are behind bars for indulging in corruption, what does he think of himself? Did he jump from heaven?” he said. Referring to his close working relationship with former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Mr. Azad said he had great respect for the departed soul and his wife, but indicated that ‘his son does not deserve it'. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy took a jibe at the YSRCP president by saying that he was put behind bars only for indulging in corruption and not for being the champion of the masses. Members of Parliament Chinta Mohan and K. Chiranjeevi sharpened their attack on the Kadapa MP for taking corruption to a new high, while PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana recalled the development schemes of Congress. Ministers Galla Aruna Kumari, K. Parthasarathy, party candidate M. Venkatramana took part.

from Hindu

CBI zeroes in on fortress-like venue for Jagan's interrogation

                                                                                   
High drama preceded the selection of venue for YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy's interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the disproportionate assets case before the agency zeroed in on the officers' mess near Chanchalguda jail where he is lodged.
Initially, it was thought Mr. Reddy would be quizzed at Dilkusha Guest House that the CBI has been using as its Special Investigation Team office for a while now.
Then, the City Police put up a heavy security screen around the main office of the CBI at Kendriya Sadan in Kothi indicating it was another option.
Last minute
But at the last minute, they shifted it to the office of the Director-General and IG of Prisons & Correctional services right behind the Central Prison in Chanchalguda, after detailed discussions with T.P. Das, DG (Prisons).
The media came to know about the venue hardly two hours before the CBI took custody of the MP for interrogation on Sunday morning. It may be recalled that vehicular traffic and people living in the area around the Raj Bhavan Road were severely inconvenienced for three days when Mr. Reddy was called to the Dilkusha for questioning last week.
Trademark grin
The area around the prison and the attached office complex was turned into a fortress since morning, with Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Akun Sabharwal overseeing the security. However, the authorities took care to see that the general public and movement of traffic were not affected.
When Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, an under-trial numbered 6093, emerged out of the main entrance of Chanchalguda prison around 10.35 a.m. with his trademark grin, he greeted those waiting outside with folded hands.
Wearing a sparkling white shirt, the Kadapa MP looked fresh considering the fact that he spent over four days in prison.
As directed by the High Court, Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's interrogation was held in the presence of two of his advocates and it was also said to have been video-graphed.
Meanwhile, Bharathi, wife of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy went inside the complex to meet her husband during the lunch hours.
from hindu