Hyderabad: The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Friday, January 30, sought immediate police action over a “coordinated campaign” to defame its senior leaders through posters and flex banners linked to the alleged ghee adulteration case.
In a letter to the Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), YSRCP MLC and general secretary Lella Appireddy said large posters had appeared in parts of Vinukonda, Piduguralla, Darsi and Guntur, allegedly put up by unidentified persons claiming to be supporters of the ruling coalition.
He alleged that the displays carried photographs of former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, YV Subba Reddy and Bhumana Karunakar Reddy to suggest their involvement in the matter. He said that the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) supplementary charge sheet filed in court did not attribute any criminal role or responsibility to the three leaders.
The ghee adulteration case relates to allegations that substandard or contaminated ghee was supplied to a government-linked distribution system, prompting the state government to order a probe and appoint an SIT to examine procurement processes, laboratory findings and possible lapses.
According to the YSRCP, the SIT’s conclusions were based on laboratory and forensic reports and did not fix individual culpability in the manner portrayed in the posters.
The letter warned that the campaign amounted to a “trial by public propaganda” in a case that is currently before the courts and could prejudice due process. Appireddy urged the police to register criminal cases against those responsible for erecting the posters.
