Bellary: Cash-for-Bail Scam a Major Worry for Sriramulu
Bellary, Jun 11 (Deccan Chronicle): The cash-for-bail scam in which an Andhra Pradesh CBI court judge allegedly received monetary favours for granting bail to jailed mine baron Janardhan Reddy, has cast a shadow on former minister and Independent MLA B Sriramulu’s plans to launch his new party.
Sriramulu who considers Janardhan Reddy his mentor, was planning to do this after concluding his 921-km walk from Basavakalyan in Bidar district to Bangalore.
With reports suggesting that Bellary City MLA Gali Somasekhara Reddy, elder brother of Janardhan Reddy and his son-in-law and Kampli MLA Suresh Babu may be arrested by the Andhra Pradesh government’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in connection with the scam, the launch of BSR Congress may not be a mega event, said sources.
Somashekhar Reddy and Suresh Babu are close associates of Sriramulu. Sources said the Bellary City MLA is accused number two while Suresh Babu is accused number four and Janardhan Reddy accused number seven in the FIR filed by CBI sleuths in the cash-for-bail scam. The eldest of the three brothers—former revenue minister Karunakar Reddy— has reportedly distanced himself from the political plans of the Janardhan-Sriramulu combine.
While Sriramulu had claimed that his padayatra was intended to respond to the plight of those affected by the natural calamity, his real goal was to lay a foundation for his newly floated political outfit. He also wanted to prove a point to his former party, the BJP, that though Janardhan Reddy was in jail, they could still dictate the state’s political course as they did in the 2008 Assembly elections.
Â
Â