‘Jagan Reddy has laundered ₹43,000 crore,’ TDP brings Andhra CM’s demons out of the closet

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy trended on Twitter throughout Tuesday afternoon as the netizens and the main opposition party in the state TDP brought his old demons out of the closet. Reportedly, the YSR Congress leader is the prime accused in over ten charge sheets filed by CBI and ED of disproportionate assets cases worth over Rs 43,000 crore.

TDP led the charge in trending the #VijayMallyaOfSouthYSJagan on Twitter and dubbed Jagan Mohan Reddy as the biggest scamster of India for laundering crores of tax-payers money through shell companies and later pumping it into his personal enterprises like Jagati Publications, Sakshi news channel, to name a few.

Lokesh Nara, General Secretary of TDP shared a series of posts where Jagan Mohan Reddy’s corruption escapades were discussed on the international platform as one of the biggest scams ever pulled by a political leader.

He also shared an info graph where the schematic of Andhra CM’s numerous companies that he purportedly formed to launder the money was represented.

It is imperative to note that the CBI first started investigating the case following a High Court order on August 10, 2011, based on a petition filed by former state minister P Shankar Rao, who had alleged that Jagan had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 43,000 crore during the regime of his father Y S Rajsekhara Reddy between 2004 and 2009.

It is alleged that Jagan Reddy’s income rose from a measly Rs 11 lakhs in 2004 to Rs 43,000 crore by the time his father died.

According to a Business Line report, the entire amount was diverted illegally into various companies belonging to the Pulivendla MLA, which resulted in the loss of public money. The CBI arrested Jagan and sent him to jail on May 27, 2012. After 16 months in jail, he was granted bail.

Upon his election in May 2019, the Andhra CM had filed a petition before the CBI court seeking complete exemption from personal appearance, citing the busy schedule of a constitutional post and wastage of public money for his weekly trips from Amaravati to Hyderabad. The court had, however, rejected this plea and instead ordered him to seek exemption whenever necessary.

Last year in January, for the first time, Jaganmohan Reddy appeared before the CBI Special Court in his capacity as the CM of Andhra Pradesh. He had successfully managed to avoid appearing in the court up until the point.

The trial is still to begin in the courts which explains how Jagan Mohan Reddy through his power network has so far managed to avoid facing the music by tangling the entire judiciary process. The media has been appallingly silent on the issue as the case continues to loiter between the High Courts and the CBI while Jagan Mohan Reddy roams as a free man.