Indicating changes in political equations in Andhra Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday came out in support for YSR Congress President, Mr Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. The party said the ruling Congress was using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against its political opponents. Mr Reddy is in jail after a CBI court remanded him in judicial custody for two weeks in a disproportionate assets case.
The BJP spokesperson, Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said the Union Government should instead proceed against eight Congress Ministers in the State against whom corruption charges have been levelled. The Congress is asking the CBI to “selectively choose individuals” who are opposed to it, he alleged in a press conference.
Mr Rudy alleged that no action had so far been initiated against eight colleagues of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy, despite the Supreme Court issuing notices to all the eight Ministers on corruption charges. “Why has no action been taken against them and why is Jagan Reddy being selectively targeted?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the Congress said it had nothing to do with the Mr Reddy's arrest. Party spokesperson, Mr Manish Tiwari, said the Opposition's charges that the CBI was being misused were baseless. He said the party has no role in Mr Reddy's arrest and maintained that the law would take its own course.