TDP-BJP-JSP delegation submits memo to Additional CEO, seeks CBI probe

A delegation of the TDPBJPJSP alliance comprising Varla Ramaiah (TDP), Pathuri Nagabhushanam (BJP), former Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao submitted a memorandum to Additional Chief Electoral Officer M.N. Harendira Prasad on April 14 (Sunday) and sought a CBI probe into the stonepelting incident in which Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was injured in Vijayawada on April 13.

Addressing the media, Mr. Ramaiah alleged that the incident was “stagemanaged by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to garner public sympathy and votes in the elections.

‘Pre-planned attack’

Pointing out a message posted on social media platform ‘X’ by a YSRCP supporter Avuthu Sridhar Reddy a few days ago that a sensational incident was going to ‘alter the election atmosphere’, Mr. Ramaiah claimed that it was a “preplanned attack and that some YSRCP leaders knew about it beforehand”.

“The police could have possibly prevented the incident but Director General of Police (Intelligence) P.S.R. Anjaneyulu was negligent in sensing the trouble,” he alleged.

Mr. Ramaiah claimed that key YSRCP leaders such as Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, the Chief Minister and some police officers were aware of the incident in advance. “Why were security measures such as flashlights and bulletproof sheets not taken during the Chief Minister’s bus yatra?” he asked.

Speaking to the media persons separately, TDP national spokesperson K. Pattabhi Ram said the Election Commission of India (ECI) should order a detailed probe into the incident.

Questioning the timing of the incident, he said that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was attacked with a kodi kathi (knife used in rooster fights) at the Visakhapatnam airport just before the 2019 elections.

The stone pelting at Jagan Mohan Reddy was stage-managed by the YSRCP to garner public sympathy and votes in the elections