AP tells SC: Rebel MP Raju accepted payment to discredit YSRC government
The apex court had directed the state government to file a counter affidavit while hearing the case
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has informed the Supreme Court that rebel MP Raghuramakrishna Raju took payment from Andhra TV channels and was in touch with TD chief Chandrababu Naidu "as part of a bigger conspiracy (the TD) hatched against the YSRC government to spread hatred (among the public) against it."
The apex court had directed the state government to file a counter affidavit while hearing the case. The APCID booked the case against Raju and two Telugu TV channels, citing charges of sedition.
The Bar and Bench website recently carried a story on this. It said that the AP government has, in its affidavit filed before the apex court, alleged that money was exchanged between the rebel MP and the TV channels in furtherance of the conspiracy. It further said, “In fact, in one instance, an amount of one million Euros appears to have been transferred by chairman of a TV channel to RRKR.”
“(It is) clear that all the strings were being pulled by @JaiTDP and Chandrababu Naidu. The timing of the calls, the chats and the documents shared between @Raghu Raju and @ncbn as well as Nara Lokesh, clearly point to a bigger conspiracy against the elected government.”
The Jagan-led YSRC government stated in its affidavit that "while freedom of speech is sacrosanct and the press has an essential role to play in a democracy, it cannot be permitted to spread hatred and create disaffection against the government.”
The state government submitted to the apex court: “Though the media agencies should work to safeguard public interests, they entered into a plot and telecast interviews with the MP, promoting hatred and these even caused violence.”
The government also alleged that the telecasts of the press conferences of Raju were done by these media outlets not as part of their job but to make political and financial gain.
It further submitted to the court that based on evidence collected in the case, “the petitioners (TV channels) took part in the plot to create hatred among social groups and even conspired to defame the democratically elected government.”