Hyderabad:
Jailed politician Jagan Mohan Reddy today came in a bullet-proof vehicle to attend an important court hearing which included Sabitha Indra Reddy, who was forced to resign last month as Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
The court allowed Jagan to spend time with his wife and other family members who were present during the hearing with him. The court has posted the matter for further hearing on June 21.
Mr Reddy, whose father YSR Reddy was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, left prison for the first time in six months. YSR, as he was popularly known, died in 2009.
The CBI has alleged that YSR and senior ministers in his government granted important licenses and clearances to companies who agreed to invest in Jagan Mohan's different companies.
Among the former ministers under investigation is Ms Reddy. The CBI today sought judicial remand for her. Ms Reddy's summoning will embarrass her party, the ruling Congress, which is beleaguered by dissent over an array of issues including the demand to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to turn the region on Telangana into its own state.
Jagan Mohan quit the Congress months after his father's death in protest against being sidelined by the party.
Andhra Pradesh, with its 42 Lok Sabha seats, played a lead role in helping the Congress-led coalition, the UPA, to form the government in 2009. For the next national election, due in May 2014, the Congress faces many challenges. The campaign for a Telangana state has split the party down the middle, and important Congress leaders from the area have defected to rival parties.
Jagan Mohan's party, the YSR Congress, founded in 2011, has been delivering strong results in local elections, transmitting its leader's surging popularity among voters who were loyal to his father.