Cong Objects To Naidu's "Brandy Bhavan" Remarks

Government chief whip Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy, on Wednesday, took serious objection to Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu describing Gandhi Bhavan as "Brandy Bhavan" during the election campaign.

Talking to media persons at the Congress Legislature Party office, Venkata Ramana Reddy said that Naidu, who learnt political lessons at the Gandhi Bhavan in his earlier days of political career, has no moral right to criticise the Congress. He and demanded that the latter withdraw his comments immediately.

Venkata Ramana Reddy complained that Naidu has not changed his attitude despite the people of the state having rejected him in the 2004 and 2009 general elections.

He also denied the role of the Congress in the CBI freezing the accounts of Jagathi Publications owned by Y S Jagan. Stating that the CBI has been probing the disproportionate assets case following the High Court's directions, he said that the Congress was no way connected to the seizure of Sakshi's accounts.

"If it was possible for the Congress to influence the CBI, then Jagan could not have conducted the Odarpu Yatra, and might even have been arrested long ago," he said, "It is not good for Jagan to target the Congress instead of boldly facing charges," he said.

Pointing out that the CBI had freezed the accounts of Ramalinga Raju after the Satyam scam, he said that Jagan was politicizing the issue unnecessarily in order to get mileage in the by-elections.

He also took a serious note of the Sakshi newspaper carrying the headline "Freedom Of Press Murdered In The State". He said that the CBI would investigate into the large-scale flow of investments in Jagathi Publications, and the management's role in it, and that the agency would not target other employees and journalists in the name of investigations.

Venkata Ramana Reddy said that the CLP members' meeting has unanimously appealed to leaders who speak at the CLP office to not issue statements that could damage the Congress' image. He appealed to leaders not to misuse the CLP platform for raising controversies against the party and leadership, and to raise them in the party's internal forums instead.

Congress MLAs Sivaramireddy, Ch Lingaiah, Rudraraju Padmaraju and Arepalle Mohan participated in the CLP meeting. (INN)