The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Sunday challenged the ruling YSR Congress Party to bring out a White Paper on the financials of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family members.
Addressing the media here on Sunday, TDP State unit official spokesman Anam Venkataramana Reddy alleged that as per the charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, ₹1,256 crore was brought in as investment into Jagathi Publications through 22 shell companies. Mr. Venkataramana Reddy questioned how the firm’s share with a face value of ₹10 could be sold at a premium of ₹350 without publishing even a single copy of the daily when it started.
He contended that the wealth of the family grew several times only after Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy became the Chief Minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy paid an advance tax of ₹89 crores in 2010, which could not be matched by many captains of industry in the country then.
The circulation of the daily grew at an astounding rate only after Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed office in 2019. Of the current circulation of 10 lakh copies, volunteers accounted for 2.4 lakh copies, village secretariat staff 1.4 lakh copies and village secretariats 40,000 copies.
The State government paid for almost five lakh copies, leading to a financial loss of ₹420 crore to the State exchequer. Advertisements worth ₹400 crore were given to the daily as a ‘Valentine Day’s gift’ to the current chairman Y.S. Bharathi Reddy, he alleged and termed it as ‘nothing but daylight robbery‘.
Further, the daily employees were given posts in various government departments and paid salaries from the State exchequer.
He also said Andhra Pradesh had turned out to be the ‘ganja capital‘ of the nation, accounting for over ₹3 lakh crore in narcotic drugs trade. The seizure of 40 lakh kg of ganja by the Narcotics Control Bureau recently from the State was only the tip of the ice berg. The Chief Minister wanted to move to Visakhapatnam only to oversee the alleged ‘illegal‘ sale of drugs, sand and liquor, he said.
