Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy is the third minister of the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet to be in the dock for allegedly showing undue favours to a cement company which invested in the business of Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of then chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. 

Though Jagan, as the MP from Kadapa is popularly known, has remained behind bars since May last year, the latest chargesheet shows that the worries of the ruling party are far from over. With the role of some more ministers in quid pro quo deals under the CBI scanner, the Congress party may not find it easy to get rid of the allegations that it is protecting tainted ministers who were part of the YSR cabinet during 2004-09.

The TDP and the other opposition parties are demanding that the government drop all the tainted ministers from the cabinet. “It looks as if the entire state cabinet will go to jail,” said TDP leader Revant Reddy.

The government is defending the ministers named in the chargesheets on the ground that they acted in accordance with the rules while issuing government orders and had no knowledge of what was happening behind the scenes and who the real beneficiaries were.

The CBI believes that the then YSR government allotted limestone mines and land and granted other favours to companies and individuals who invested in Jagan’s businesses as a quid pro quo. Besides the ministers, several IAS and other officers have been named in the case by the CBI.

The Congress party is also facing trouble from within, with a section of ministers and leaders who were unhappy with YSR demanding that the leadership drop all the tainted ministers. Their continuance in the cabinet, the section feels, would negatively impact the party’s prospects in next year’s elections.It questions the stand taken by the government on the issue and wonders how it can defend ministers named by the CBI while accusing Jagan of wrongdoing. “We can’t have different standards for people named as accused in the same case,” said a senior party leader.

Doctors, who came from Hyderabad examined him on Saturday. They would once again examine him in the evening.

Doctors said his heel was swollen and causing blood circulation problem. On the advice of the doctors, he gave a break to his yatra for two days.

Dr Srinivas, who examined Naidu said, if he had continued his yatra despite these problems, he would have developed more problems. He also said they advised Naidu not to walk for more than six to seven km a day. He also said they would advise Naidu to stop his walkathon.

TDP leaders Garikapati Mohana Rao and Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu said they were also asking Naidu to totally stop the yatra but he was not heeding their advice. They said he would be resuming his yatra on Monday. The last public meeting would be held on April 27 in Visakhapatnam.

In a statement here on Saturday, Yanamala said when they had several times in the past made the same allegation, it was denied stoutly. He said now as the statement of the Finance Minister proved their own charge, the Jail superintendent should be suspended. He has alleged that Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was controlling the Chanchalguda jail and using it as the office of the YSR Congress, only with the blessings of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. He also demanded that action be taken against all other jail officials, who were responsible for the situation.

Yanamala faulted the Chief Minister for protecting the tainted ministers. Stating that the entire cabinet was composed by late Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, he said except one or two, all the ministers were totally corrupt. Referring to the Supreme Court notices to six ministers for issuing 26 controversial GOs, he said while one minister went to jail in Jagan�s illegal properties case, another was named 5th accused in the CBI charge-sheet. Now it was pathetic that Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy was named fourth accused in the case. He questioned as to why Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was hesitating, though Constitution gave him the authority to cleanse his cabinet. Stating all the irregularities committed by officials were now coming out, he said now even ministers were admitting them.

Jagan will go Gali way

Yanamala said Enforcement Directorate�s adjudicating authority had confirmed that Gali Janardana Reddy diverted Rs 883 crores he earned through illegal mining as investments and had allowed attachments. He said Gali diverted the illegal income through RR Global into Jagan�s Jagati Publications.

Stating that Gali and Jagan were two faces of the same corruption, Yanamala said people were observing everything. Reminding Jagan that Gali Janardana Reddy�s NBSR Congress was taught a lesson by the people by defeating it in the Bellary elections, including Gali�s own ward, Yanamala said the same fate would be meted out to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy of the YSR Congress.

Union minister Sarve Satyanarayana is latest to join the bandwagon to criticize her. However, he rendered it in a soft voice and advised her to quit. �I leave it to her to take a final decision,� was his diplomatic statement. Former minister JC Diwakar Reddy said that the chief minister should take a decision whether she should continue in the cabinet or not. Naming ministers in the charge sheet has been a bolt for the Congress party and it is better if the Congress ministers take responsibility for signing the files, he said.

�It is not fair to say that YSR has influenced the minister to sign. On one issue I refused to sign a file,� he recalled.

The opposition parties are seeking the resignation of the Home Minister.

Speaking at a meeting organized by the Ranga Reddy District JAC on the outskirts of the city, he said that the telangana agitation is at a crucial stage and we could bring in political pressure through the agitation. �We have to go ahead with the agitation till we reach our goal,� he said. We have to defeat the Andhra capitalists to reach our goal, he said.

The agitation would be intensified and we will be knocking at the doors of Delhi very soon. “Agitation programmes like Delhi Sansad Yatra and Chalo Assembly would be taken up to draw the national attention towards our agitation,” he said.

RR District East zone JAC Chairman Chalma Reddy, BJP state leader P Narsimha Reddy, Mall Reddy, P Purushotham and others participated in the programme.