YSRCP seeks judicial probe in ‘call money’ racket

Hyderabad: YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today urged Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan to intervene and order a judicial probe into the ‘call money’ racket of harassing and exploiting borrowers by private money lenders in Vijayawada.

Reddy also alleged that ruling TDP members have gone scot free despite facing serious cases and opposition members are targeted for “frivolous” issues.

“The Chief Minister has been carrying out the bauxite mining (in the Visakhapatnam region) despite staunch resistance from tribals and when a YSRCP MLA, a tribal, expressed the voice of the people in ‘native terms’, a case of attempt to murder was foisted against her,” he claimed.

Booking a case of attempt to murder against YSRCP MLA is an act of a “political vendetta”, Jagan claimed.

Police had registered a case of attempt to murder against Paderu MLA and YSR Congress leader Giddi Eswari on December 11 after she allegedly said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu be beheaded if he goes ahead with bauxite mining in Agency area of Visakhapatnam.

“TDP whip Chintamaneni Prabhakar who had physically abused a lady MRO (Mandal Revenue Officer), spoke filthy language against Anganwadi workers and was actively involved in sand mafia and laying a road to forest against the rules, went free while our party MLA and MP were accused of assaulting airport officials at Tirupati when they questioned an irregularity (sic),” he said.

Jagan was referring to an incident at Tirupati airport in November when his party MP P Mithun Reddy allegedly slapped a station manager of Air India, apparently after she was denied a boarding pass for arriving late for scheduled departure of his flight.

“TDP ministers, MLAs, MLCs and cadre are actively involved in land, sand, liquor and ‘call money’ mafia but no cases were booked which shows the duality of the TDP governance,” the YSRCP president said and urged the Governor to intervene and order a judicial probe into the irregularities.