'Eenadu' Declares Open War On Jagan

[Ranku Raja]

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Going by a flurry of front page stories in "Eenadu" daily on Saturday, it appears that the media group has declared an open war on YSR Congress Party President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Devoting a major chunk of its front page on details of Jagan's declared and undeclared assets, the daily made a scathing attack on the former Kadapa MP for amassing wealth through dubious means and looting the state.

The tone and tenor of the reports, coinciding with the submission of nomination papers by Jagan for Kadapa Lok Sabha by-election, suggested that the media group, owned by Ch Ramoji Rao, has decided to take upon itself the role of a political opponent to expose the ill-gotten wealth of Jagan.

Under a screaming headline "Concealing the loot", the report said that the assets declared by Jagan in his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission were only a tip of an iceberg.

The former MP has concealed several properties owned by him, the report said and sought to give details of how he presides over a web of deceit, illegal funds flow and dubious business deals.

The affidavit is silent on the mansions he owns in Hyderabad and Bangalore, worth several hundred crores, the daily pointed and went on to give details of the palatial building coming up at the posh Banjara Hills in Hyderabad where the land cost itself stood at Rs 24 crore. Spread over an area of 5,807 sq yards in the prime locality, the massive structure has 50 to 60 rooms including 27 bedrooms and when completed it could well be the costliest residential structure in the state, it said. Similarly, Jagan's mansion in Bangalore, worth over Rs 350 crore, does not find a mention in his affidavit, it claimed.

The daily went on to probe his business ventures and detailed how he had benefited during YSR's regime. Even going by the officially declared assets on paper, Jagan's properties went up by over six fold in the last two years, it pointed out.

If elected to the Lok Sabha in the May 8 by-election from Kadapa, Jagan will become the richest MP in the country with declared assets worth Rs 365 crore.

The daily also pointed out that Jagan's affidavit was just a jugglery of figures and an elaborate exercise in deceit. It is surprising that Jagathi Publications, which owns Sakshi daily and Bharathi Cements do not figure in the declared assets though it is a public knowledge that they are owned by Jagan, the report said.

[ANC]

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