VIJAYAWADA: Senior YSR Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy’s announcement that he would launch a news channel and expose the “land scams” by his own party MPs has created ripples in the ruling party.
Addressing the media in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, Vijayasai Reddy had announced that he would soon launch a news channel as the Sakshi media house, owned by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, was ineffective in taking on the vernacular media working at the behest of Telugu Desam.
He did not stop at that and even threatened to launch a newspaper besides foraying into real estate business.
“He announced everything and stopped just short of launching a new political outfit,” quipped Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha member M.V.V. Satyanarayana.
The YSR Congress MP was attacked by Vijayasai Reddy who ridiculed a land development agreement with a ratio of 99:1 for the builder and owner respectively, which was concluded by the former’s real estate company.
Sources close to the Chief Minister told Deccan Chronicle that Vijayasai Reddy’s comments on Sakshi were uncalled for. “It is also not in good taste to openly declare that the owner of a vernacular media that spits venom on Jagan and his party is his good friend,” the sources stressed.
Sources also said intelligence inputs were gathered on land deals concluded by Vijayasai Reddy’s kin some time ago and these were passed on to the CM. Incidentally, Reddy, whom several of his followers call as ‘Number 2’, had been removed as YSRC in-charge of three north coastal districts. “Even ministers and MLAs have to get green signal from Vijayasai Reddy,” sources said.
The partymen also failed to understand the “contradictory statements” of Vijayasai Reddy with regard to a particular community. Reddy earlier defended shifting the capital from Amaravati, saying much of the lands there were concentrated in the hands of the Kamma community.
At the press conference, he said in Vizag also, a majority of the lands are owned by Kammas and that the biggest beneficiaries of Daspalla lands, once the government removed them from the prohibitory list, are of the same community.
“Is he conveying to people that we still serve their interests,” wondered a senior party leader.
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