Opposition leader and YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said he would order a detailed probe into the ‘corruption and misdeeds’ of the TDP government if his party was voted to power in the 2019 general elections. He alleged that more than ₹6 lah crore worth corrupt dealings took place during Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s regime and he would have to face the music for all all his ‘faults’.
Mr. Jagan, scheduled to conclude his 14-month marathon walkathon ‘Praja Sankalpa Yatra’ on Wednesday at Itchapuram, shared his ideas and his political plans with The Hindu exclusively.
Mr. Jagan, who released a book on the ‘corruption’ of the Chandrababu government, said: “Acquisition of land for capital Amaravati and their conversion into a realty venture is the biggest scandal. As a Chief Minister, Mr. Naidu is supposed to maintain secrecy in government decisions. But the selection of area for capital Amaravati was shared with his confidantes while creating hype in other areas. This amounts to insider trading. It is nothing but violation of the oath on his part. Illegal transaction of lands in and around Visakhapatnam is another. Huge corruption took place in each and every administrative decision.”
Mr. Jagan exuded confidence that his party would win all the 25 Parliament seats and play a key role in the formation of the next government. “Hung Parliament is certain as is being indicated by the surveys of reputed organisations.” He said he had never adopted a soft approach towards the Narendra Modi government. “I myself went on hunger strike for SCS when Mr. Modi visited AP for laying foundation for capital Amaravati. We organised many protests including Yuva Bheri programmes to step up pressure on the Union government over the legitimate demands. In fact, Mr. Naidu used to praise Mr. Modi’s government and passed resolutions in the Assembly. He has no right to talk about my approach.”
Mr. Jagan said he had no objection if the Telangana Rasthra Samiti and the Majlis Parites extended help to the YSRCP in achieving the SCS and more funds from the Central government. The YSRCP chief said there was no need for the immediate announcement of the MLA and the MP candidate names. He felt that it might lead to relaxation at the grassroots level. “I can announce all names immediately. But I don’t want to do so since it has to be done after a thorough review of all parliamentary segments.” He felt that the YSRCP was in a comfortable position compared to the 2014 elections. “Mr. Naidu did not face anti-incumbency in the previous election. Mr. Modi’s image and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan’s support helped him. This time he did not have such advantages. Moreover, almost all the sections of society were fed up with his administration.”
The 46-year-old leader covered 134 of the 175 Assembly constituencies during his Yatra which started on November 6, 2017. He walked 3,648 km in 341 days and indicated that he would launch ‘Bus Yatra’ after Sankranti to gear the party up to face elections scheduled to be held in April-May.
