After ‘hilltop palace’ dig, TDP calls Jagan Mohan Reddy ‘furniture chor’

After the poll drubbing of his party, ghosts of the past have come to haunt YSR Congress Party chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which has accused Jagan of secretly building a “hilltop palace” worth ₹500 crore as a camp office in Vishakapatnam, has now called Jagan a “furniture chor” (furniture thief) in what is being called a payback for a past insult to a party leader. The TDP alleges that Jagan still owns furnishing and fittings done at his residence cum camp office in Tadepalli which was constructed with the money of taxpayers.

‘Furniture chor’

The YSRCP in 2019 had used the ‘furniture chor’ dig at TDP leader and former Andhra Pradesh Assembly speaker, Kodela Siva Prasad Rao, while accusing him of diverting furniture bought for his use during his tenure, to a showroom run by his son, Kodela Sivaram.

While a case of theft was filed against him for the same, several other cases of corruption were lodged against his son and daughter after the YSRCP came to power. Sivaram claims the humiliation forced his father, a six-time MLA, to end his life by suicide in September 2019.

Payback time

Sivaram has now used the same epithet to accuse Jagan of holding on to government property despite leaving office.

Doubling down on the attack, IT Minister Nara Lokesh Reddy also demanded to know when Jagan would return the furniture.

TDP Mahila wing leader Tejashwini has also filed a complaint with the police, accusing Jagan and his associates of forcing Rao to committing suicide by humiliating him and filing cases against him.

The YSRCP, however, has said that the former chief minister has already informed the state government that he will pay for all the furniture and fittings in his residence.

‘₹500 crore palace’

Even as TDP accuses Jagan of constructing a palatial building worth ₹500 crore to serve as his home and camp office, the YSRCP says that the property doesn’t belong to the party chief but to the tourism department.

“We lost our assets when the state was bifurcated in 2014. So our leader wanted to create a complex that could serve as a VVIP guest house for the President, Prime Minister and others when they visit, as a venue for hosting international guests to hold conventions, or as a luxury tourist stay option,” a party leader told NDTV.

This is in contrast to an earlier statement by the former tourism minister RK Roja Selvamani who said the property was shortlisted to serve as a camp office for the then chief minister.