Criminal cases’ shadow on Telangana, Andhra Lok Sabha candidates

Naveen S Garewal

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Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, April 5

For those who think politicians with a criminal past were something specific to the North, think again. Candidates in the fray in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh “specialise” in all kinds of crime, ranging from molestation to bribery and cheating.

But for the affidavits submitted by these politicians the truth would not have come out. While political vendetta is stated to be the major cause for these high numbers of cases, not all are as “innocent” as they feign.

Today, a candidate of the YRS Congress leader was caught on camera throwing currency notes during an election campaign in Allaggadda constituency in Kurnool distirct of Andhra Pradesh where party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy was campaigning. The matter has been referred to the Election Commission.

In Telangana, 19 candidates contesting the 17 Lok Sabha seats have pending criminal cases against them. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) candidate Nama Nageswara Rao from Khammam, who recently quit the Telugu Desam Party, has cases pending for outraging the modesty of women, adultery, attempt to bribe voters and cheating.

BJP’s Adilabad candidate Soyam Bapu Rao faces several cases, including one relating to passport human trafficking scam wherein he is accused of showing a woman as his wife to help her go abroad. Congress’s Revanth Reddy, who is contesting the Malkajgiri seat, the largest parliamentary constituency in the country, has 42 pending cases.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) sitting MP from the Hyderabad Assaduddin Owaisi has five criminal cases pending against him.

Owaisi said these cases were registered in Telangana, Maharashtra and Bihar out of political vendetta and had not proceeded any further because they were not based on any substance.

Interestingly, 10 candidates of the YSR Congress have criminal cases pending against them. Narasapuram candidate Raghurama Krishnam Raj has 15 cases of various natures, including recovery of money running to over Rs 400 crore. Srikulam candidate Duvvada Srinivas has 13 cases that include rioting armed with deadly weapons, assault, cheating, criminal conspiracy, etc.

One of the major issues being raised by the TDP in its campaign in Andhra Pradesh is that 31 cases were pending against the YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy himself. These include cases before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and different police stations Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Jagan claimed that the cases were politically motivated to keep him away from politics after his father’s (former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy) death in a crash.