YSRCP MP Midhun Reddy arrested in Rs 3,200-crore ‘liquor scam' in Andhra
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged liquor scam grilled Midhun Reddy for several hours today and followed it up with his arrest at around 7.30 pm in Vijayawada.
'Yes (he has been arrested). The process (to produce him before a court) is going on,' Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha told PTI over phone.
Midhun Reddy represents Rajampet constituency in Andhra Pradesh.
The YSRCP leader arrived in Vijayawada earlier today to attend the probe and his questioning comes in the wake of the arrest of other accused persons–Dhanunjay Reddy, Krishna Mohan Reddy and Balaji Govindappa.
Meanwhile, the opposition party slammed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for allegedly indulging in vindictive behaviour and foisting 'false' cases against people close to YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The case against Mithun Reddy is part of a larger vindictive conspiracy to arrest people who are in close proximity to the party leadership, said senior YSRCP leader Malladi Vishnu in a release.
'But we will bounce back to call the bluff of Chandrababu Naidu,' he said, adding that the more vindictive the actions of the Naidu government, the stronger YSRCP's resolve becomes to fight back and expose the 'failures and corruption' of the coalition government.
Further, senior YSRCP leader L Appi Reddy said Midhun Reddy comes from a family with a long and distinguished political history.
'I am confident that justice will prevail and that the judiciary will act fairly. His decision to attend the inquiry shows his determination to prove his innocence and his respect for the rule of law,' Reddy told PTI Videos.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
6 minutes ago
- Time of India
Finance Commission needs to focus on strengthening local bodies, says Raghuram Rajan
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan suggests the 16th Finance Commission should prioritize devolving more funds to local bodies for effective problem-solving. He emphasized decentralization, drawing comparisons with China and the US regarding local government employment. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The 16th Finance Commission should focus on devolving more funds to local bodies, municipalities and panchayats to enable them effectively deal with problems facing the people, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has that previous finance commissions devolved more funds to states, Rajan told PTI Videos, "Now we need to focus also on devolving funds from states to municipalities to panchayats, etc. That third level of devolution is what we need far more of."Citing examples of China and the US, Rajan pointed out that the number of local government employees in these countries is significantly higher than the share of local government employees in on the need for more decentralisation in a large country like India which is overly governed from the Centre and state capitals, he said,"I think the 16th Finance Commission should focus on making that happen through carrots and potentially sticks."Recently, 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya had said that a majority of states have recommended that the Centre increase their share in tax revenue distribution to 50 per states receive 41 per cent of the divisible tax pool, while the remaining 59 per cent is retained by the Finance Commission, mandated by the Indian Constitution, plays a crucial role in strengthening the financial position of municipalities (urban local bodies).It reviews the financial position of municipalities and makes recommendations to state governments on various aspects of fiscal asked what is his assessment of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Rajan said, "I do not think we have any strong public data to evaluate the PLI scheme." He noted that as with all government programmes, there is some success as India is exporting more cell phones now."But has it (PLI scheme) done enough to move the needle on jobs in a big way? I think at job numbers you see in the periodic labour force surveys (PLFS) suggest not yet," Rajan, currently a professor of finance at Chicago Booth 2021, the PLI scheme for 14 key sectors including telecom, electronics, pharma, textiles and auto was announced with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and to a question on China's rare earth material exports curb to India and other countries, Rajan said,"We need a strategic view of different industries and ask where we can be held up by bottlenecks, and where it is relatively easy for us to undertake production to elevate those bottlenecks."He noted that sometimes some sort of antagonistic power can limit "our access to chips, but it is very, very costly for us to have an entire chip manufacturing sector.""So we have to find alternative ways of getting those example through creating domestic buffers of key chips," he to Rajan, in some areas, India has the opportunity to produce more rare earth metals ."For example, I understand there are reserves of some of these rare earth materials in Kashmir. Could it be a win-win situation to create more employment in Kashmir which is really very important both from an economic perspective and also from a geo-strategic perspective."
Indian Express
6 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Justice delayed… is dignity diminished': Karnataka HC slaps Rs 2 lakh fine on Govt officials over delaying para-swimmer's cash reward
The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed officials of the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports to pay an international-level disabled swimmer more than Rs 1.26 lakh as a pending cash award, and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on them. In the order, Justice M Nagaprasanna also directed the department's officers to bear the sum of Rs 2 lakh in litigation expenses personally. The petitioner, Vishwas K S, is a swimmer with multiple medals at the international level who had lost his arms at a young age in an accident. Based on a 2013 Karnataka Government notification granting cash awards to international para-swimmer medalists, he had approached the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports in March 2018 for a cash award of Rs 6 lakh. After failing to receive the full amount despite multiple representations, he approached the High Court. His counsel argued Vishwas had been subjected to inhumane treatment as he was not given his dues as a disabled person, and was entitled to equal treatment. The opposing counsel said he was paid Rs 4.6 lakh, which was the actual amount due, and pointed out that the association he represented had been disqualified from April 2015 to June 2016. The bench observed that although a different notification governing such awards was issued in 2017, the swimmer's events took place during the pendency of the 2013 government notification. Under this, he would be eligible for Rs 4 lakh for two international silver medals, and another Rs 2 lakh for international bronze medals in various events. 'The association's suspension or its subsequent revocation cannot deprive a deserving athlete of his rightful reward… It is the said sportsperson's effort during the sporting event that they would win a medal for the nation or the state, as the case would be, which would entitle them to get such cash rewards….focus must not be on bureaucratic technicalities, but on the living human spirit that triumphed against colossal odds,' the bench said. '…for having driven a disabled person to bear the brunt of litigation, the officers of the State must be mulcted with payment of exemplary costs. The costs are to be imposed as a caution or to serve as a reminder to the officers of the State that justice delayed, especially to those who overcome the gravest of odds like the petitioner, is not only justice denied, but dignity diminished,' the bench added.
Indian Express
6 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bihar in sight, Haryana BJP govt all set to roll out Lado-Lakshmi Yojana
In a move that the party may showcase in its campaign for the Bihar Assembly polls, the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government in Haryana is set to implement the Lado-Lakshmi Yojana it had promised before the state elections. The scheme entails monthly financial aid of Rs 2,100 to eligible women. Sources said that the draft policy, prepared by the Social Justice Department, has been forwarded for final approval to Chief Minister Saini, who is likely to package it as a 'gift for Haryana's women' and officially roll it out before Rakshabandhan. 'The BJP made a promise to the sisters and mothers of Haryana ahead of last year's Assembly polls. We have worked on the modalities and have sent it to the CM's office. Saini will officially launch the scheme in the coming days,' Social Justice Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi said. According to the draft policy, the scheme will be rolled out in four phases. Women falling below the poverty line (BPL) with an annual income of less than Rs 1.8 lakh, who number around 46 lakh, would be covered in the first phase. 'The poorest of the poor, whose annual income is below Rs 1 lakh, may be given priority,' an official said. Officials said assistance under the scheme, which has a budgetary allocation of Rs 5,000 crore, 'may be increased' once the government finalises the actual number of beneficiaries. Officials peg the number of women between the age groups 18 and 60 to be around 75 lakh, but said employed women and the almost 8.5 lakh women who already avail social security benefits like widow, destitute, retirement and abandonment pension are likely to be excluded from the scheme. 'The eligibility criteria is yet to be finalised by the CM's office,' sources said. The Saini government's initiative is in line with other BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, where the Ladli Behen Yojana and Ladki Bahin Yojana were rolled out respectively ahead of Assembly polls, and seemingly played a key role in bringing the party back to power. Earlier this month, Saini too hinted that the scheme may be rolled out soon and said his government was coming up with a portal for eligible women to register themselves even as officials said that the portal will go live immediately after the CM makes an announcement. Currently, the Haryana government implements schemes like the Aapki Beti, Humari Beti; Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao; Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Udyamita Yojana; Mahila Adhikarita Yojana; Kanyadaan scheme; and Drone Didi to cater to girl children, women entrepreneurs, widows, and women belonging to backward communities.
