Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary N. Lokesh said on August 18 (Friday) that he would contest the 2024 elections from the Mangalagiri Assembly constituency, where he had lost to the YSR Congress Party’s (YSRCP) Alla Ramakrishna Reddy by barely 6,000 votes in 2019, and exuded confidence that he would come out with flying colours.
Addressing the media at Mangalagiri in Guntur district after recording his statement in a local court in a defamation case he filed against A.P. State Film Development Corporation chairman Posani Krishna Murali, the TDP leader said his grandfather N.T. Rama Rao and father N. Chandrababu Naidu were Chief Ministers for more than two decades, but they had never committed irregularities.
On the contrary, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had served a prison term of 16 months allegedly for “looting people’s money to the tune of ₹1,00,000 crore when his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was the Chief Minister,” Mr. Lokesh alleged.
He pointed out that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the YSRCP leaders made all sorts of allegations against Mr. Naidu, but could not prove anything.
Similarly, Mr. Lokesh said that the YSRCP leaders sought to browbeat him by levelling corruption charges, but could not substantiate the same.
“They have dragged the entire family of Mr. Naidu into controversies, without an iota of truth,” Mr. Lokesh said, and added he would not spare those who resorted to mud-slinging.
‘CM’s dubious record’
The TDP leader further said he could freely travel to any part of the world, unlike Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had to seek the permission of courts and agencies such as the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
Such was the Chief Minister’s dubious record, but he was personally targeting his rivals to gain an upper hand in the run-up to the 2024 elections, Mr. Lokesh said.
Referring to Mr. Krishna Murali’s allegation that he had purchased 14 acres of land at Kantheru village in Guntur district when he was the Information Technology Minister, Mr. Lokesh said he would not rest until the allegation was proved wrong.
“I served notices of defamation on Mr. Krishna Murali twice, but he returned them. But I will not let him go scot-free,” Mr. Lokesh vowed.
