Jagan group condemns allegations against YSR’s aide

HYDERABAD - Former parliamentarian Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s group Saturday distanced itself from the allegations one of his loyalists made against Congress MP K.V.P.Ramachandra Rao, a close aide and advisor of Jaganmohan’s father and late chief minister Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy.

P. Subhash Chandra Bose, a former state minister and a staunch loyalist of Jaganmohan Reddy, condemned the allegations levelled by former minister Konda Surekha against Ramachandra Rao.

Bose said the families of the late YSR and Rao had close relations for decades and Rao never indulged in any irregularity when YSR was the chief minister.

Surekha Friday termed Rao “a broker” and blamed him for the death of YSR. In an open letter, the Congress legislator accused KVP, as Rao is popularly known, of making money in irrigation contracts.

Surekha alleged that KVP failed to discharge his duties as security advisor, resulting in the death of YSR in a helicopter crash Sep 2 last year. She also lashed out at KVP for dividing YSR’s family by taking his brother Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy to the Congress leadership to make him a minister in Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy’s cabinet.

She even claimed that after YSR’s death, KVP took signatures of 150 party legislators demanding Congress leadership make Jagan, as Jaganomhan Reddy in commonly known, the chief minister without his knowledge.

KVP reportedly distanced himself from Jaganmohan recently after the latter started openly defying the Congress leadership and used his media outlets to launch an attack on party president Sonia Gandhi.

Jagan last month quit the Congress party and also his Kadapa parliament seat to protest what he called the party leadership’s attempts to divide his family by luring his uncle with a ministerial post.

He Tuesday announced that he would launch a new political party in 45 days.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao said the differences between KVP and Jagan over “some dealings” led to Surekha making the allegations.

Talking to reporters, Hanumantha Rao asked KVP to come out with a clarification on Surekha’s allegations that he was involved in corruption.