YSR Congress party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create the new state of Telangana was being carried out in an undemocratic manner.
In his first ever interview to a business magazine, Jagan Mohan, or Jagan, told Business Today that from industry's perspective, a pressing issue before the nation and in Andhra Pradesh was that of harassment.
"Apart from having to worry about what is happening to the rupee and other economic parameters, there is the element of harassment that industry has to deal with," said Jagan, who was in jail for 16 months till his release on bail in late September.
He faces numerous charges include that of possessing disproportionate assets and of having received investments by companies who got undue favours when his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was chief minister of the state, all of which he claims are an attempt to victimize him for his anti-Congress politics.
Why was the creation of Telangana undemocratic? Reddy maintained it was because the resolution creating the new state was not being passed in the state assembly first.
He has begun an indefinite hunger strike in protest against the state's division. Indeed there has been turmoil across many Andhra Pradesh districts for the last few days to protest the division. Reddy too insisted that keeping Andhra Pradesh united was in the best interest of all the regions of the state and that most people are against the bifurcation.
Andhra Pradesh comprises three main region - Telangana, Rayalseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh.
"Such arbitrariness and doing away with democracy is not healthy... How is this a solution acceptable to all when 60 per cent of the people in the state have been on strike for the last 65 days," he said.
Jagan maintained the various law enforcement agencies of the government were being misused to harass people. There was also arbitrariness in economic policies such as the "levy of retrospective tax on Vodafone," he said.
Giving an example of how enforcement authorities like the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), ED (Enforcement Directoratre) and IT (Income Tax department) were being "used to harass people", he said, "Srinivasan of India Cements has been served a chargesheet because water was given for his expansion project. Do you think he will come and put up another factory in Andhra Pradesh?"
Reddy was referring to notices to N Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of India Cements to appear before it in the cases relating to his investments in Reddy's companies and in return getting "favours" in terms of allotment of water. "Can any industry come if you do not provide it water and power?" he asked.
If his party were to come to power in the state, industry harassment would stop. "We will ensure that the situation improves and that the environment changes. We will not misuse (the law enforcement authorities). We will not let that happen," he added.
Jagan drew much media attention when he declared his assets while contesting elections from the Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh in 2009 and declared his net worth at around Rs 77.40 crore. A year later, he paid an advance tax of around Rs 82 crore following the sale of his majority stake in Bharathi Cements.
This was up from just around Rs 11 lakh tax paid and Rs 19 crore net worth in 2004, the year his father became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
He has built several companies ever since -- such as those of Sandur Power (a company that he acquired in 2001), Bharathi Cement and Jagati Publications. Through Jagati Publications, Reddy sustains his interest in the news media - through Telugu daily Sakshi and Telugu news channel Sakshi TV. Jagati Publications was incorporated in 2006.
YSR Congress party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy 
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