Another YSR Congress Party MLA joins TDP in Andhra

Another MLA of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) joined the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday even as leader of opposition Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy is visiting Delhi to mobilise support for his 'save democracy' campaign.

G. Ravi Kumar, a legislator from Addanki in Prakasam district, joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the presence of party president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu here.

Ravi Kumar is the 14th legislator from the lone opposition party to defect to the TDP.

The YSRCP received another blow as senior leader and former minister M.V. Mysoora Reddy also resigned from the party over "Jagan's style of functioning".

Meanwhile, Jaganmohan, son of former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi on Wednesday and complained that the TDP was "resorting to undemocratic practices" in Andhra Pradesh.

He told reporters that "Naidu is buying MLAs for Rs.20 crore to Rs.30 crore".

On Tuesday, Jagan also met Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechuri and Janata Dal United leader Sharad Yadav and called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Releasing a booklet titled 'Emperor of corruption', Jagan alleged that during the last two years, Naidu was involved in 31 scams involving Rs.1.34 lakh crore. He said the booklet had all the details of the scams, which included certain government orders.

He sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) into all the scams.

Last week, Jagan had complained to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan against Naidu.

The leader of opposition said he will lodge a complaint with the president, the prime minister and the Election Commission on the issue.

The YSRCP bagged 67 seats in the 175-member Andhra Pradesh assembly in the 2014 elections to become the lone opposition party.

--IANS

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