Hyderabad: YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday told the Andhra Pradesh High Court that a PIL seeking a CBI probe into his assets was politically motivated and the petitioner was awarded a cabinet berth as a quid-pro-quo by the ruling Congress government.
The HC on Tuesday began hearing the arguments on a petition filed by Textiles Minister P Shankar Rao seeking a CBI probe into the assets acquired by Jagan, son of late chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
Senior counsel KTS Tulsi, arguing on behalf of Jagan, said the Kadapa MP was being victimized by Andhra Pradesh Government which is harboring a grouse against him since he left Congress.
The petitioner Shankar Rao is merely a pawn in the political game being played by the ruling party in a nefarious alliance with the Opposition party, he said.
Tulsi alleged Rao was rewarded with a cabinet birth for filing the PIL against Jagan.
The HC had ordered for a preliminary probe by CBI into the allegations of corruption leveled against Jagan last month.
Besides Rao, two TDP members had also filed petitions seeking a CBI probe into the assets acquired by Jagan. The defense counsel alleged that the PIL reflected a deep-routed malice nursed by Rao as a petitioner and TDP along with Congress as respondents.
The writ petition do not serve any public purpose except spoiling the image of Jaganmohan Reddy, he added.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Nissar Ahmed Kakru and Justice Vilas Afzalpurkar heard the arguments which will continue tomorrow also.
Jagan, who had last month approached the Supreme Court seeking stay on the HC order, received a setback when the apex court rejected his plea.
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