YSR Congress party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has landed in legal trouble over his charged speeches against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. In his speeches, Jagan had said that Naidu deserved to be shot and hanged.
A case has been booked against the leader under Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach) and 506 (for criminal intimidation) of the IPC at the III Town police station in Nandyal.
Jagan’s media house Sakshi TV has also been booked under sections of the Representation of People’s Act.
The case was registered after the National Election Commission directed the State Election Commission on Wednesday to take action against Jagan for flouting the electoral norms and recommended that a police complaint be filed over the issue.
On the campaign trail for the Nandyal bye-polls, Jagan had said on August 3 that there is nothing wrong in shooting an immoral person like Chandrababu.
“Naidu should be shot dead for cheating people of Andhra Pradesh and his false promises and double-speak on every issue. Naidu made so many promises to farmers, women, minorities, unemployed youth, but failed to deliver. He is very treacherous,’’ TNIE quoted him saying.
Subsequently, at another roadshow on August 11, Jagan said that Chandrababu Naidu deserved to be hanged for not fulfilling his electoral promises.
“What one should do to a person who had stolen votes by duping people with promises and then going back on them? Such a person deserves to be hanged,” he said, according to Deccan Chronicle.
Following the two incidents, leaders of the Telugu Desam Party approached the Election Commission and the police.
While some questions were raised about the timing of the National Election Commission’s directions regarding Jagan’s speech, Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal dismissed speculations on this count, and said that all actions had been carried out according to procedure.
Meanwhile, the Nandyal bye-poll concluded largely peacefully. The polls saw a voter turnout of 77.66% by the end of the day. However, the final voter percentage could go up to 82%, the CEO said.