Hyderabad:
The Kiran Kumar Reddy-led Congress government in Andhra Pradesh is heading toward another crisis, as about 29 MLAs and two MPs of the party, now with YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, are planning to resign from their posts. The politicians say they are protesting the CBI raids on the Kadapa MP's businesses, and have sought an appointment with Andhra Pradesh's Governor, ESL Narasimhan, to hand over their resignations.
Sources say around 14 MLAs and an MLC have held an ''emergency'' meeting at Jagan's residence on Sunday evening to discuss their plan of action, even as they lashed out at the state and the Centre over the manner in which the MP was being targeted in a "political witchhunt". The sources added that the Jagan camp is trying to enlist the support of some more MLAs from the Congress to push the Kiran Kumar Reddy government into a deeper crisis.
"We are ready to resign from our posts if the situation arises," the MLAs announced at the end of the meeting.''
Earlier in this week, the CBI had conducted raids on Jagan's homes and offices in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Lotus Mahal, Jagan's home in Hyderabad, is said to be the biggest house in the city, with some 60 rooms or more. Incidentally, four companies owned by Jagan show their registered address here. Jaganmohan Reddy is away in Nandigama in Krishna district on his
odarpu yatra, when the raids took place.
The investigating agency was acting on the orders of the Andhra High Court to examine the sources of the MP's enormous fortune. The CBI has said those who invested in Jagan's companies had done that as a quid-pro-quo for favours extended by his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy when he was chief minister. The CBI has however not named YSR in its FIR.
A case filed by a Congress minister Sankar Rao had alleged that several investors who poured funds into Jagan Mohan's different businesses were returning illicit favours granted by his famous father, YSR Reddy, a Congress leader who served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and died in a helicopter crash in 2009.
''We will be scrutinizing all the documents and then decide how many more raids are required," said Laxminarayana, the CBI joint director in Hyderabad.
Jagan has appealed to the Supreme Court to stop the inquiry against him and has described the case against him as a "witch-hunt" being conducted by the Congress, the party which he quit late last year. He has also said that if favours were granted via government decisions that benefited him, YSR's entire cabinet should be investigated. The state government however says it is only Jagan's phenomenal economic growth that is being probed and no one is pointing fingers at YSR.
(With PTI inputs)