Leaders of the Jana Sena Party (JSP) in Tirupati on Saturday said it was unfortunate that Chittoor’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA Arani Srinivasulu, who is the only MLA from the Balija community in Rayalaseema, was playing to the tunes of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy despite having been denied party ticket in 2024 elections, undermining the self-respect of the Balija community.
Addressing a press conference here, JSP in-charge for the Tirupati Assembly constituency Kiran Royal alleged that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy and district Minister P. Ramachandra Reddy had given the Chittoor MLA a false promise of making him a Rajya Sabha MP, thus betraying the Balija community in the Rayalaseema region.
The JSP leader faulted Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy for giving the Chittoor ticket to M.C. Vijayananda Reddy, against whom, Mr. Kiran Royal said, there were 48 criminal cases in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. “The YSRCP is giving tickets to those who come from jail in Rayalaseema,” he said.
Kiran Royal demanded that considering the “atrocities” of Minister for Tourism R.K. Roja, the MLA of Nagari constituency, police open a rowdy sheet on her. He alleged that Roja’s followers were intimidating and attacking police in Nagari for trying to stop sand smuggling. “The Chittoor SP should answer the excesses of Roja in Nagari,” the JSP leader demanded.
