It has been five years since Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan’s uncle and former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy was brutally murdered at his home. The heinous act, which took place just before the 2019 assembly elections in the State, snowballed into a major political issue over the years. After a prolonged investigation, the CBI finally arrested several people in connection with this case. Cuddapah MP YS Avinash Reddy was one of those accused in this case. He was arrested and immediately released on bail last year. Opposition parties have been alleging that Avinash Reddy was the mastermind behind this murder. They have been criticizing Jagan for shielding Avinash using all his influence in Delhi.
YS Vivekananda’s daughter Sunitha and Congress leader YS Sharmila openly condemned Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tactics to save Avinash. They also alleged that Jagan is intentionally protecting Avinash Reddy to save his party from embarrassment as he is one of the 22 MPs. Sunitha made shocking comments about Jagan’s reaction when she asked him for an inquiry into Avinash Reddy’s role in the murder. All these incidents gave room for suspicion that Avinash Reddy played a role in the murder. No doubt, the mystery behind Vivekananda Reddy’s death brought a lot of disgrace to YSRCP and Jagan Mohan Reddy in these five years.
Amidst this scenario, YS Jagan blatantly announced the MP ticket for Avinash Reddy again from the same segment for the upcoming elections. This is quite unexpected because political experts felt that Jagan would ignore Avinash Reddy’s candidature this time due to the ongoing furore over Viveka’s murder within the family and also from Opposition parties. At least to avoid backlash from his family members, Jagan should have put Avinash Reddy away from the upcoming elections. But that is not the case.
Jagan seems to have given a damn to these allegations and criticisms and chose Avinash Reddy because of the latter’s strong money power and influence in the area. Jagan’s only agenda is to win the elections irrespective of the character and antecedents of his candidates. With this instance, it is once again proved that Jagan is openly protecting his nephew Avinash who has an alleged role in the murder of his uncle. Opposition parties are once again condemning his shameless act.