The Hindu : Front Page : YSR makes light of evangelist's allegation

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Saturday, Jun 09, 2007
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YSR makes light of evangelist's allegation

Special Correspondent

K.A. Paul fears threat to life from Chief Minister

HYDERABAD: On a day when global evangelist K.A. Paul feared threat to his life from Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the latter made light of Dr. Paul's claim saying he was making a wild allegation. Dr. Paul held a news conference in the city on Friday morning and sent in releases to newspaper and media offices that he was concerned about his life because he had refused a donation of US $ five million (Rs. 20 crore) to bankroll the Congress party's election campaign in 2004. He also named Marketing Minister Botcha Satyanarayana in the matter.

Charge against Sonia

He also alleged that AICC president Sonia Gandhi tried to scuttle a peace mission of the Global Peace Initiative of which he is Founder President, to Iran, Syria, Libya and Venezuela under pressure from the United States. Brushing aside Dr. Paul's allegation as ridiculous, he denied seeking funds from anyone to meet his election expenditure.

He, however, admitted to visiting an orphanage run by Dr. Paul's brother at Sadasivapet in Medak district along with ten others. Dr. Paul had asked him to persuade UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi also to visit the orphanage on an occasion when Presidents and Prime Ministers of ten countries would be present.

Dr. Reddy said he had made the request with Ms. Gandhi but she did not evince any interest. This apparently deprived the evangelist of an opportunity to receive financial aid from those countries. "But I am not responsible for it," he remarked.

Close to Naidu?

Asked if he suspected the hand of Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu, he said Dr. Paul was indeed very close to the latter.

In fact, the helicopter in which former Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi was killed belonged to Dr. Paul.

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