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‘Cannot compromise on self-respect’: Another MP resigns from YSRCP
The MP said the Magunta family was a brand in the entire Prakasam district and it would give a lot of importance to self-respect than anything else
YSR Congress Party MP from Ongole parliamentary constituency Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy on Wednesday resigned from the party stating that he would not like to continue in the party where “he had no respect”.
Addressing a press conference at Ongole, 71-year-old Srinivasulu Reddy said he was forced to leave the YSRCP under unavoidable circumstances. “It is a sad development, but I cannot compromise on my self-respect,” he said.
The MP said the Magunta family was a brand in the entire Prakasam district and it would give a lot of importance to self-respect than anything else. “We don’t have ego, but have self-respect and we cannot continue where there is no value to our self-respect,” he said.
He announced that his son Magunta Raghava Reddy would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Ongole. He thanked YSRCP president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for giving him an opportunity to serve the party for the last five years.
The MP said he would disclose his future course of action shortly. However, a YSRCP leader familiar with the development said he and his son would be joining the Telugu Desam Party shortly and Raghava Reddy was assured of the TDP ticket from Ongole parliamentary constituency.
Sreenivasulu Reddy is the sixth YSRCP MP to quit the party in the last one month, the other five being Kurnool MP Sanjeev Kumar, Machilipatnam MP Vallabhana Balashowry, Narsaraopet MP Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu and Narasapuram MP Kanmuru Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, besides Rajya Sabha member Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy.
Interestingly, both Sreenivasulu Reddy and his son Raghava Reddy, whose family has been into liquor business for more than four decades, were among the accused in the Delhi liquor policy scam involving Aam Aadmi Party president and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The MP and his son duo was accused of being part of the South Group that allegedly offered a ₹100 crore bribe in the Delhi liquor policy scam. On February 10, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Raghava Reddy under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the case.
On April 6, 2023, the ED filed a charge sheet against Raghava Reddy. On June 7, 2023, the Delhi high court granted him a 15-day conditional bail, which was later extended to four weeks.
In October 2023, Raghava Reddy, along with Aurobindo Pharma director P Sarat Chandra Reddy, another accused in the Delhi liquor scam case, turned approvers. On February 1, 2024, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court granted anticipatory bail to Raghava Reddy and also pardoned him in the case.
