Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticized the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for welcoming former minister and MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy, accused in a Rs 35,000 crore scam, back into the party.
She expressed her disapproval on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the 20 different cases against Reddy, including 9 CBI cases. She also highlighted allegations of Reddy attempting to bribe a judge for Rs 40 crore instead of bail.
"Janardhan Reddy, accused in the Rs 35,000 crore scam, joined the BJP. 20 different cases are against him, including 9 CBI cases. There are allegations of destroying forests and mines. There are allegations of an attempt to buy the judge for Rs 40 crore instead of bail," Vadra said in her post.
Case against Janardhan Reddy
Ballari came into the spotlight when a Lokayukta report named Gali Janardhan Reddy as the main culprit in a Rs 16,085 crore scam that took place between 2006 and 2010.
Janardhan Reddy was arrested by the central agency on charges that his company Obulapuram Mining Corporation conducted illegal mining in a reserve forest in Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy was in prison till 2015, when the Supreme Court granted him bail on the condition that he could not visit Ballari, Anantapur, and Kadapa. Though the ban stays, he was allowed as a special case to visit Ballari between October 10 and November 6, 2022, when his granddaughter was born.
After his arrest, the BJP distanced itself from Janardhan Reddy and he maintained a low profile after coming out of prison. Previously, former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said that Janardhan Reddy added new strength to the BJP.
'Washing machine' jibe against BJP
She accused the BJP of protecting corrupt individuals while intimidating opposition leaders. "The BJP is welcoming him with open arms. Modiji is selectively washing corrupt people from across the country in the washing machine named BJP," Priyanka Gandhi said.
Slamming the ruling party over Praful Patel, she mentioned that the CBI had filed a closure report in the case of a Maharashtra leader who had joined the BJP eight months ago. "The Prime Minister, who once accused him of a scam worth thousands of crores, is now taking the same person with him and washing away all his 'taints'," she said.