CM Naidu Rules Out Revenge Against Jagan, Underlines Tolerance in Politics
Recalls YSR as chief minister not confining Jagan Mohan Reddy to Bengaluru without allowing him into AP. Says Jagan’s mother Vijayalakshmi shared her anguish over Jagan with former chief minister K. Rosaiah.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday made it clear that he has no intention of taking revenge against former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Three years ago, when being the chief minister of AP, the Jagan Mohan Reddy regime had arrested and jailed Chandrababu Naidu.
“It would take me only a minute to arrest Jagan. But I follow the politics of tolerance,” the TD national president maintained.
Addressing people at Panduvaripeta village in Ambajipeta mandal of Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, Naidu recalled his arrest on September 9, 2023, while he had been touring Nandyal as the opposition leader. He said his arrest followed a high drama throughout the night.
“I have been in politics for 58 years. I became CM for the first time 31 years ago. I am committed to practising value-based politics and providing justice to the poor and Telugu people. I started my family business some 36 years ago and gave it to my wife as I am preoccupied with politics. I have no desire for money. I always think that the Telugu race should thrive,” the Chief Minister maintained.
He recalled that he had been arrested without being served a notice and kept in Rajamahendravaram jail for 53 days. He recalled protests by Telugu people across the world. He mentioned the arrest of Jana Sena chief K. Pawan Kalyan on the outskirts of Vijayawada while travelling from Hyderabad to meet him (Naidu) in jail.
Naidu observed, “Some people are criticising me for being soft towards Jagan Mohan Reddy. But the fact is that I have more patience and always think that whatever I do should ensure that the Telugu people get justice. Whatever I thought should not happen to me in my lifetime, happened when I served the jail term for 53 days. The courts struck down the cases booked against me. Central investigation agencies like the enforcement directorate found nothing wrong in the cases booked against me.”
The TD national president disclosed that he had once advised former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to be more careful about his son Jagan Mohan Reddy. Chandrababu Naidu said Jagan’s mother Vijayalakshmi had shared her anguish over Jagan with former chief minister K. Rosaiah, who later shared the information with Naidu.
The Chief Minister said, “People should understand the nature of Jagan Mohan Reddy from the fact that his father, while being the CM, kept his son away in Bengaluru and did not allow Jagan to visit AP. Former minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy had been murdered and I was blamed for it even though I had been serving as the CM then. Jagan Reddy even duped his own mother and sister for property. I am forced to do politics with such a man, which is very unfortunate,” Chandrababu Naidu remarked.
In this regard, Naidu asked people to introspect whether such people are eligible for politics in Andhra Pradesh.
He criticised the previous YSRC government’s rule from 2019 to 2024, referring to the alleged anomalies in evaluation of Group-1 answer scripts. Naidu recalled his fight against Maoists and the attempt on his life involving claymore mines at Alipiri, which he said he survived by the grace of Lord Venkateswara.
The TD chief said, “I am working hard to make AP number one state in the country in the next 10 to 15 years. I assume that the Telugu people will earn the highest per capita income globally in the next 25 years.”
