Yet another day passes and yet another newspaper flashes “Jag Mohan Reddy behind the judicial bars”. In the wake of the current Presidential elections and the state elections in the state of Andhra Pradesh, there is no doubt about the fact that the sudden arrest and the not-so-sudden series of accusations against the YSR Congress leader Jagan Reddy leaves a lot of questions brewing up in all our minds. Was it a political gimmick or just another case of overtly asserted crime, it is certain that with every mouth changing, the facts are getting a personalized, tailor made fit! Let us look at who Jagan Reddy is and what caused this turmoil for him and his newly established party.
The state of Andhra Pradesh has always been a comparatively silent one when it came to political turmoil. The last Chief Minister of the state, late Mr. Chandrasekhar Reddy did too many good (not to leave behind the bad of course) and was a very popular public figure not just within the Biryani State but also with people from all over the nation. Belonging to the majority party, the Indian National Congress, his tenure that ended rather early and shockingly, stirred a tumult within the party and consequently affected the governance of the state. In 2009, when father Reddy lost his life to an air crash, his son who was around 37 years then took the entire political scenario in Andhra by surprise with his overly revolting nature! He wanted a ticket to the Chief Minister elections but the party did not think on similar grounds and hence he decided to resign and compiled his own party by the name of YSR Congress party in 2009.
Things seemed rosy in the beginning but in reality were anything but rosy. After a lot of resentment and critical shakes, just when things were getting on track (it was highly anticipated that YSR would sweep the state elections scheduled for later this year), the CBI put forth documents that pulled the political icon behind the bars. Under the sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 477A (falsification of accounts) of IPC, Jagan Reddy was sentenced to a 14 days judicial trial custody till the 11th of June. The court and CBI accused Jagan of possessing disproportionate wealth of around 364 crores (INR). Under the tenure of his dead father, he is said to have amassed this wealth which is now being called a blunt case of White collar crime.
Along with Jagan, there were more 74 prominent people whose names have been associated in this case and amongst the 24 against whom charge sheets and interrogation permits have been issued by the Hyderabad High Court include N Prasad, a senior bureaucrat K V Brahmananda Reddy.
Following this decision, his wife and mother sat on a midnight Dharna to oppose the decision. The direct revelation of this arrest, as is speculated by observers is on the election procedure. Since, son Reddy was the top dog of the election campaign and held the direct ticket, things look quite shaky. It is in this regard that a lot of accusations have also been drawn on the Congress party who are thought to be behind the investigation (so as to stop the successful campaign by YSR). Another school of thought, which makes more sense in a general manner, is that all this might be a scam to portray a prejudiced image of the MP, who is rightly called the richest in the country. However, until the judicial custody is over and the CBI is allowed for stricter investigation and interrogation on the matter, things will still remain in the dark.
Ploy or a genuine case of fraud, with every year and every election, one Jagan Reddy and one Andhra Pradesh always comes under the limelight. Politics and transparency are two poles of a magnet and getting them in line, seems a rather Herculean task!
Image courtesy: http://www.andhrabuzz.com/upload/news/24065/JaganNew1.jpg