Visakhapatnam, July 30 (IANS) Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy accused the Chandrababu government of politicising an unfortunate incident by foisting false cases against party leader and former minister Seediri Appalaraju.
He alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was trying to spoil the career of a young boy and trouble the family of the Backward Class leader.
Jagan was speaking to the media at Ampolu in Srikakulam district after jail authorities denied him permission to meet Appalaraju for being late.
Home Minister V. Anitha said Jagan was given time between 2–3 p.m. for the ‘mulaqat’ but he came to the jail after 5 p.m. She alleged that Jagan had no intention of meeting Appalaraju but only wanted to use his visit as a show of strength.
Jagan Mohan Reddy met the family members of Appalaraju and assured them that he would stand by them till justice was done.
The former CM claimed that after a road accident, Appalaraju’s son tried to revive the victim by administering CPR and also called the 108 ambulance and the police, but he was arrested under serious charges. His father was booked with vindictive intentions only to trouble the family and ruin the future of the young boy.
YS Jagan said the government had converted an accident into a murder case with mala fide intentions and out of political vendetta. He hoped that justice would prevail and Appalaraju would be released.
“We will stand by the family and will fight it out at all avenues,” he said, slamming Chandrababu for following the same pattern to trouble political adversaries.
He stated that soon after any incident, Chandrababu’s friendly media casts aspersions and spins stories, which are then followed up by police invoking harsh sections, as happened in this case.
He claimed that a similar incident took place involving Ichchapuram and Pathapatnam MLAs but no cases were filed as they belonged to the ruling party. He accused Chandrababu of whipping passions in the name of caste and sending a minister from the victim’s caste to play politics.
Earlier, YS Jagan was given a rousing welcome at Visakhapatnam Airport. As he travelled to Srikakulam by road, a large number of supporters greeted him along the way.
YSRCP leaders accused the coalition government of imposing severe restrictions on YS Jagan’s visit, saying the government could not tolerate his growing public support. They alleged that the government begins conspiring whenever Jagan steps out to meet people, using police restrictions, advance notices, and house arrests to prevent party leaders and workers from reaching him.
Appalaraju was arrested on July 22 for allegedly tampering with evidence in a hit-and-run case involving his son Arav Varma.
On July 10, a 45-year-old man, Danayya, died on the spot after a two-wheeler allegedly ridden by Arav hit him on the Old National Highway at Kasibugga.
Local police initially registered a case against another youngster, Siddardh, a friend of Arav. However, CCTV footage recovered from a nearby petrol station established that Arav was riding the vehicle before the crash. Following the revelation, police arrested both Arav Varma and Siddardh.
As Appalaraju allegedly used his influence to shield his son, his name was also included in the First Information Report (FIR).
–IANS
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