New Delhi:
Ex-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Reddy and members of his YSR Congress, including Rajya Sabha MP Vijaysai Reddy, have been accused of illegally acquiring 41.12 per cent of shares in Kakinada Seaport Private Limited (KSPL), and 48.74 per cent in Kakinada Special Export Zone (KSEZ), for Rs 500 crore in 2020/21, when they were worth over Rs 3,600 crore.
A First Information Report, or FIR, has been filed against the YSRCP boss and his colleagues on basis of a complaint by Karnati Venkateswara Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of KSPL.
The shares, he alleged, were ‘bought’ by the YSRCP leaders – and routed via a company called Aurobindo Realty (now Auro Infra) – through “cheating, criminal intimidation, and conspiracy”.
According to the complainant, Y Vikranth Reddy, son of YSRCP leader YV Subba Reddy, had approached him “asking” that he part with his shares and claimed this was being demanded in the name of Jagan Mohan Reddy, then the Chief Minister.
He claimed that if he did not agree to the transfer of shares, there would be a “spate of criminal cases and vigilance enquiries, leading to his arrest and that of his family members”.
“I was also informed they will pay me a nominal amount for the transfer of my shareholdings. All my efforts to convince them proved futile,” Mr Rao alleged in the police complaint.
The FIR also names Sarath Chandra Reddy, a non-executive director of Aurobindo Pharma, which filed a note with the BSE this morning distancing itself, and Auro Infra Pvt Ltd, from ownership of, or connection with operations of, Kakinada Seaports and Kakinada SEZ.
“In this regard, we would like to clarify that (neither) Aurobindo Pharma Limited nor its subsidiaries are in any way connected with the ownership or operations of Kakinada Seaports Limited and Kakinada SEZ Limited, including Auro Infra Private Limited,” the company said.
Jagan Reddy has not yet reacted to the FIR, but senior YSRCP leader Kakani Govardhan Reddy, the former Food Processing Minister, refuted the allegations and claimed a “political vendetta”.
“It is clear this is part of a political vendetta… part of a game being played by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu (whose Telugu Desam Party defeated the YSRCP in the May election).”
“If they (Aurobindo Realty) wanted to acquire (the shares), they could have acquired the entire stake and taken control of the port. Why only a partial stake?” he asked, and also asked why Mr Rao, who continues to hold the majority stake, had waited nearly five years to make his claim.
Meanwhile, the issue has invited sharp attacks from the two main opposition parties – the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The former’s charge has been led by YS Sharmila, Jagan Reddy’s estranged sister. Ms Sharmila has accused leaders of her brother’s party of “harassing the port owner to give up stake”.
“This deal is made for 25 years, and the people of Andhra Pradesh have to pay power bills that are hiked… the burden will fall on every family… they are going to pay lakhs of rupees because the government failed to do anything about this scam,” she told reporters outside Parliament.
“The Congress is demanding that at least the central government do something and scrap this deal. An inquiry should Be conducted and guilty must be punished,” she said, pointing to similar allegations involving the YSRCP and the Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports.
The BJP’s CM Ramesh, the Lok Sabha MP from Andhra’s Anakapelle, told NDTV that the allegations against the former Chief Minister do not come as a surprise.
“When he became Chief Minister he threatened so many industries. Kakinada Port is just one of them… I know this story for the past five years. He threatened them, saying, ‘If you don’t want to sit behind bars then you transfer the shares.’,” Mr Ramesh alleged.
With input from agencies
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