The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Court order a relief for Jagan, Opp campaign faces setback
NDA and Congress had been raking up the case to slam the YSRCP chief
A KADAPA district court on Thursday has issued an order restraining the leaders of the Opposition NDA – comprising the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party (JSP) and BJP – and the Congress from making derogatory comments against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and the party’s Kadapa MP and candidate Y S Avinash Reddy in the murder case of Jagan’s uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy, brother of ex-cm late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
The court directed the Opposition leaders to desist from making defamatory comments, particularly ordering them to refrain from alleging that Avinash, Jagan’s cousin, had “killed” his uncle Vivekananda Reddy and that Jagan was “shielding” him.
The court’s injunction on Thursday came after Kadapa Mayor and YSRCP leader K Suresh Babu filed a plea claiming the Opposition leaders’ allegations were “irreversibly” damaging the political and personal reputation of the YSRCP leaders as the state heads to polling for Assembly and Lok Sabha polls on May 13.
Court’s order
Judge G Sridevi said, “It was prima facie evident that the respondents made scurrilous and defamatory attacks on Mr Jagan and Mr Avinash Reddy, unmindful of the fact that every accused in a criminal case was presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Besides, it was to be noted that Mr Jagan was never arrayed as an accused in the pending case.”
She also ordered that the respondents should remove the objectionable remarks from all media platforms, refrain from making unverified statements, maintain decent levels of public discourse and follow the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The murder case
Then Kadapa MP Vivekananda Reddy was found dead, in March 2019, under mysterious circumstances in his house in Pulivendula. Initially, the cause of death was ascertained as heart attack but later the then TDP government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case, which was later taken on by the CBI. The central agency has filed a chargesheet in the case and in a supplementary chargesheet named Avinash as an accused.
The long-standing political controversy in the state over this murder case had intensified after the Supreme Court transferred its trial to a special CBI court in November 2022.
Opp campaign
In the run-up to the current polls, both the NDA and Congress had been raking up the Vivekananda Reddy murder case to slam the Jagan government. Sharmila, who is contesting the Kadapa seat as the Congress candidate, kicked off her campaign with her cousin Sunitha, Vivekananda Reddy's daughter, by her side, accusing Jagan of “protecting” Avinash in the case.
The Congress camp alleged that the YSRCP approaching court over the matter was a sign that the “ruling party was rattled and wanted the truth to be hidden”. “Why would anyone move court if they are not involved? The case must be expedited and the culprits must be brought to the book as soon as possible,” a party leader from Kadapa said.
AP Congress media chairman and ex-mp Marreddy Tulasi Reddy said, “The matter is a topic of discussion in almost every household as the YSRCP had raked it up ahead of the 2019 polls. By moving court now, they have nothing to gain,” he said.
In its electioneering so far, the TDP, too, had extensively used the case to target Jagan and even ran a social media campaign.