After writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla last month, YSRCP ‘rebel’ LS member Raghurama Krishna Raju on Monday moved the Delhi High Court seeking central police protection apprehending threat to his life from his own party men.
Raju, through his counsel Adinarayana Rao, contended that his own party leaders were threatening him with physical attacks if he entered his Parliamentary constituency in Narasapuram. Raju argued that he was seeking central forces protection as his written complaints to the local police went in vain. He appealed to the Delhi High Court appealing to direct the government concerned to provide armed security for him from central forces as he has no confidence in the state police.
“I have received several threat calls from my own party leaders. The state police have turned a blind eye to the written complaints I had lodged with the local police. I have no faith and trust in the state police. I am frightened to go to my constituency without protection. Therefore, I am seeking the protection of the central armed forces,” he said on Monday. Earlier, Raju had lodged a police complaint with West Godavari police stating that his own party leaders were abusing him and threatening to attack him during his visits in the constituency.
Further, Raju said he will be meeting President Ram Nath Kovind to express fears of threat to his life from his own party leaders. Last week, Raju had met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and a host of central BJP leaders fuelling speculation that he may join the saffron party. However, Raju has ruled out joining the BJP
In the last few months, Raju has not been seeing eye-to-eye with the policy decisions of the Jagan government much to the chagrin of the YSRCP leadership.
Raju had openly criticised the YSRCP’s policies, including implementation of English medium in government schools in Andhra Pradesh, TTD’s proposed move to sell Sri Vari assets, rampant illegal sand mining in Andhra Pradesh and wide-spread Christian conversions in Andhra Pradesh. Following this, the YSRCP leadership had issued a show-cause notice for his alleged “anti-party activities”. In his reply to the show-cause notice, Raju had questioned its legal sanctity stating it was served under the letterhead of YSR Congress while the party was registered as Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party.
YSRCP MPs led by Vijaysai Reddy and Raju had separately met Lok Sabha Speaker to put forth their respective points of view. Vijaysai Reddy along with three other MPs submitted a disqualification petition against Raju, while Raju had written a letter to Om Birla that his own party MLAs in Narasapuram constituency were staging protests by burning his effigies and threatening him for raising critical issues.
The YSRCP leaders unleashed a verbal onslaught against Raju for raising key issues and levelling corruption charges against the Jagan government. The attacks by the YSRCP leaders against Raghu Rama krishnam Raju heightened after the MP used Rajanikant’s popular dialogue (Nanna pandule gumpuga vastayi simham Single ga vastundi — pigs come in herd , but a lion walks in solo) to hit out at his political critics.
