Viveka Murder: Avinash innocent, asserts Jagan

Kadapa: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who filed his nomination papers on Thursday, gave a ‘clean chit' to his cousin and party Kadapa Lok Sabha candidate Y S Avinash Reddy in connection with the murder of Y S Vivekananda Reddy. “Avinash has done nothing wrong, and I strongly believe that. So I gave the party ticket to him to contest from Kadapa LS,” asserts the Chief Minister.

Addressing a public meeting in Pulivendula, Jagan said: “Many forces are uniting against your child. Be it Chandrababu or his adopted son (Pawan Kalyan). BJP or Congress or the yellow media. And if that weren't sufficient, we're witnessing the conspiracies they're orchestrating by involving my two sisters,” he said. “People are observing who have sent my two sisters to discredit us and who is backing them. What's even more surprising is that the murderer unabashedly confesses to the crime and openly discusses it with the public, with supporters rallying behind him.

You all bear witness to this,” the YSRCP chief said without naming anyone. Jagan also responded to Sharmila’s allegation that after becoming the Chief Minister he had neglected her. “I didn't assume the role of Chief Minister to accumulate wealth or make my family members crorepatis. God has bestowed upon me this position to ensure people's well-being. This is what I want to tell my family members who say that I had neglected them after becoming the Chief Minister,” he said.

The YSRCP leader also lashed out at the Congress, accusing it of doing injustice to Andhra Pradesh and also trying to discredit the legacy of his late father and former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR).

Referring to 2019 elections, Jagan said the Congress didn’t even receive as many votes as NOTA did. This party is responsible for the state bifurcation. It did not include the special category status in the state re-organisation Act. After YSR’s demise, they were the ones who implicated him in the charge sheet, aiming to discredit the YSR legacy. By supporting such a party, aren't you inadvertently supporting the TDP and BJP alliance?” he asked.

The Chief Minister also took a dig at Chandrababu Naidu and some media groups for using derogatory terms about Rayalaseema, Kadapa and Pulivendula. “They often point fingers and label it as 'Pulivendula Culture', 'Kadapa Culture', and 'Rayalaseema Culture'. Indeed! Our culture thrives on goodwill towards the people. Upholding promises is ingrained in our culture, not surrendering to threats,” he said.