Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party Lok Sabha MP K Raghurama Krishnam Raju on Monday challenged the Jagan government that he is willing to quit the party if an election is held with Amaravati as referendum.
Raju, who revolted against his own party by lodging a complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla citing threat to life from his party’s leaders, reiterated that he would win the elections with a thumping majority if elections were to be held with Amaravati as referendum.
“Let the Jagan government take up a referendum. I will quit politics if the public verdict in referendum goes against capital city at Amaravati. Or, let Jagan dissolve the government and go for fresh elections on the issue of shifting the capital city away from Amaravati. Why are you scared. If you think you will win the polls, accept Amaravati as referendum.”
Raju has been strongly resisting the Jagan government’s decision to create three capitals. On Monday, he stepped up his protest demanding that Amaravati be retained as the only capital city in the larger interests of Andhra Pradesh. He described the 300-day long agitation by Amaravati farmers as one of the longest and peaceful agitations, taken up purely on Gandhian lines and urged all like-minded people to continue the agitation in the Gandhian method of ‘ahimsa’ to thwart the state government’s “devious plan” to shift Amaravati capital city to Vizag.
Without referring to the recent letter written by the Chief Minister to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, Raju warned Jagan to desist from lowering the dignity of judges and judiciary. In his letter, the Chief Minister had alleged that the Andhra Pradesh High Court was being used to “destabilise and topple my democratically elected government.” Jagan had levelled charges of corruption and bias against sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice N.V. Ramana, and other high court judges. On Monday, Raju stated that it was a ‘deliberate attempt’ to scandalize the judiciary.
Raju said a constitutional crisis arose and the day is not far when the YSRCP leaders will be sent to prison. He said the YSRCP leaders have been brazenly attempting to terrorise the judiciary. “This is being done to undermine the institution,” Raju said.
Raju has sharpened his attack against his own government ever since the CBI conducted searches on his properties in alleged connection with the Rs 826 crore bank loan fraud case. The CBI had registered on a complaint by the Punjab National Bank against against 10 people and the Ind-Bharath Thermal Power Ltd company based at Secunderabad on the allegations of causing an alleged loss of Rs 826 crore to PNB and other consortium banks.
Raju had stated that Jagan Mohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 6, the same day when the CBI has registered a case against him with the regards to the bank loan he had raised from a consortium of banks. The MP from Narsapuram also said Jagan met Punjab National Bank chairman Mallikarjuna Rao after meeting the PM. Raju had raised doubts that Jagan could have influenced the PNB chairman to press a case against him.
Raju had met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted two letters – one seeking central forces protection and the second on retaining Amaravati as capital of Andhra Pradesh. Raju held detailed discussions over the Andhra Pradesh government’s plan to change the capital city to Vizag. The YSRCP Lok Sabha MP had appealed to the President to retain Amaravati as the executive capital as it has necessary infrastructure. He also submitted a letter to the President in this regard.
