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Political tussle heats up over Vivekananda murder case
Jagan had accused Telugu Desam Party president and then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu of masterminding the murder to win the elections in Kadapa
The murder of former Andhra minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy on the night of March 14, 2019, which was a major political issue during the general elections held a few weeks later, has now come back to the fore, haunting the ruling YSR Congress Party in the ensuing elections.
The brutal murder of Vivekananda Reddy, popularly known as Viveka, at his own residence in Pulivendula in Kadapa district, fetched huge mileage to his nephew and YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the elections and helped him come to power with a huge mandate.
Jagan had accused Telugu Desam Party president and then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu of masterminding the murder to win the elections in Kadapa. He even demanded that the Centre order an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the murder of his uncle, as he had no faith in the local police machinery which was under the control of the Naidu government.
Five years later, Viveka’s murder is back once again as a major election issue, posing a major embarrassment to Jagan and his party, as the CBI, which is yet to unravel the mystery, charge-sheeted Jagan’s cousin, YSRCP parliamentarian from Kadapa Y S Avinash Reddy and his father Y S Bhaskar Reddy, as main conspirators.
Adding to the embarrassment of Jagan, his own sister Y S Sharmila, who took charge as the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president in January, revolted against him and accused him of shielding the accused in Viveka’s murder.
“The accused are able to get away without punishment even five years after the murder only due to the protection given by Jagan. Everybody knows how Avinash and his followers sought to project the murder as a heart-attack. Even Jagan’s own media house, in its initial report, said it was a natural death,” she alleged, while speaking to reporters at Kadapa on the fifth death anniversary of Viveka on March 15.
Viveka’s daughter Dr Narreddy Sunitha, who has been waging a legal battle to get justice in the case, also accused Jagan of protecting the real culprits and turning the blame of Viveka’s own family members for the murder. She questioned why Jagan, who had earlier demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder, had later withdrawn the same and why the YSRCP cadre prevented the CBI authorities from taking Avinash Reddy into custody for questioning.
On the other hand, the TDP has begun raising the issue again during the electioneering for the coming elections, questioning the delay in the investigation. The party launched a campaign with the hashtag #WhoKilledBabai (Who killed uncle) on social media, evoking a huge response from the netizens.
The TDP president has been raising the issue at his public meetings to question the alleged cruel nature of Jagan. At the “Praja Galam” public rally at Bukkarayapatnam in Anantapur district on Thursday, Naidu said by now, everybody clearly understood who had killed Jagan’s uncle.
“During the last elections, Jagan played a big drama over the murder to gain political mileage. He accused me and my family of masterminding the murder. His media house Sakshi also carried a story with a morphed picture of me with an axe in my hand,” he pointed out.
The TDP president said after winning the elections, Jagan said no to the CBI inquiry and when Sunitha started her fight to dig out the truth behind her father’s murder, the YSRCP fabricated several stories, saying Viveka’s second marriage and property disputes were responsible for the murder.
As the issue is snowballing into a major election issue, Jagan is now launching a counter-attack on the TDP. At a public rally held at Proddatur in Kadapa district, the chief minister accused Naidu of instigating his sisters against him and his family for gaining mileage in the coming elections.
He said the identity and the mastermind behind the tragic murder of Vivekananda Reddy was known to the public of YSR Kadapa district. Yet, Naidu chose to orchestrate the campaign against him by making his sisters scapegoats in this blame game.
“The primary culprit, who confessed to the heinous act of killing my uncle Vivekananda Reddy, is not behind bars as justice demands, but rather roaming free, aided and abetted by Naidu. Yet, he is attempting to tarnish my reputation,” Jagan alleged.
On Thursday, Viveka’s daughter shot back at Jagan, saying he was taking the accused along with him to the public meetings and making wild allegations against the others. “When his sister is running around the courts to get justice, he is making irresponsible statements. He says people are aware of the killers. Yes, Jagan, too, is aware who the killers are. That is why he is shielding them,” she said.
Sunitha said it was unfortunate that Jagan was still trying to use Viveka’s murder for political gains in the elections even after five years. She appealed to the people not to vote for the killers of her father and those who are protecting the killers.
