YSRC MP, who criticised Jagan, held for sedition

HYDERABAD: YSR Congress lawmaker Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju was arrested in Hyderabad by Andhra Pradesh’s Crime Investigation Department on Friday on charges of sedition, disturbing communal harmony and attacking dignitaries of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government, the police said in a statement.

A police statement issued after his arrest said a preliminary inquiry against the MP “found that through his speeches on regular basis Mr Raju was indulging in systematic, schematic effort to cause tensions among the communities and by attacking various government dignitaries in a way which will cause loss of faith in the government which they represent”.

The arrest comes weeks after Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju, an outspoken critic of his party chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy for nearly a year, asked a special CBI special court on April 27 to cancel the bail granted to Jagan and alleged that the CM had been violating the bail conditions. This request is pending before the judge who asked the CBI and Jagan Mohan Reddy to respond to the charge.

Raju, who represents Narasapuram parliamentary constituency in West Godavari district, was in Hyderabad to celebrate his 59th birthday on Friday when a CID police led by R Vijaya Paul, additional superintendent of police, Guntur, arrested him.

The CID statement said a case had been registered against the MP under Section 124-A (sedition) of the IPC, for alleged comments against the Jagan government, damaging its reputation and inciting hatred among the people. The police have also invoked others sections.

Raju’s son K Bharat said, “They [CID] didn’t even tell us where my father is being taken.” Bharat said he would file a petition in court against his father’s “illegal arrest”.