Now that the property disputes between YSR Congress party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his sister – Andhra Pradesh Congress president Y S Sharmila came out in the open, there is an intense debate in the media circles on who is the real villain in the entire episode.
Obviously, the pro-Telugu Desam Party media sought to project Jagan as the villain, projecting him as a man without any heart as he sought to take back the shares allotted to his sister and mother Vijayamma, just because Sharmila had taken a political stand against him and made wild allegations against him that hurt him badly.
The pro-YSRCP media group led by Sakshi made a desperate attempt to defend Jagan, saying he was forced to move the National Company Law Tribunal because Sharmila had illegally got the shares transferred to her and her mother without any proper documentation and approval from him.
Against this backdrop, the letter written by Jagan to Sharmila following the illegal transfer of shares and the reply given by her after he moved the NCLT came to light, obviously through leaks to the media from the respective parties.
Going by the letters, it is pretty evident that Jagan had given due share in his self-acquired properties to Sharmila, apart from an equal share in the properties inherited from their father YSR, including ancestral properties.
What is more, Jagan also gave around Rs 200 crore in cash to Sharmila, directly and through Vijayamma over the last one decade.
“This too was given by me out of my sheer love and affection for you,” he said, adding that the transfer of shares would be made in future, subject to the pending cases in respect of the properties attached by the Enforcement Directorate and currently status quo orders are issued by the courts.
Jagan, while saying that Sharmila’s political stand and her allegations against him had deeply hurt him, also clearly mentioned that he would leave the wisdom of the choices made by her to her better discretion.
“I reiterate that such actions have been deeply hurtful to me personally and have strained the love and affection that I always bestowed upon you,” he said.
He clearly said he was compelled to move the court as she had implemented the share transfer without the share transfer forms being signed by me or share certificates being handed over by me and without court clearance, in a deceitful manner creating potential legal complications for me.
Jagan told her that he was no longer bound by the MoU due to factors and circumstances solely attributable to her. So, he was revoking his intention to transfer the shares in Saraswati Power in trust by a gift deed, which were deceitfully transferred by her.
At the same time, Jagan still showed some soft corner towards Sharmila.
“Having regard to the fact that there is relationship by birth between the two of us and having shared childhood and many pleasant memories in the past, if there is any positive change in your attitude and behaviour which would rekindle my love and affection towards you, I would probably reconsider what to do and what not to do and how much to do after the court cases are settled,” he said.
In her reply, Sharmila, however, continued to project Jagan as a villain, saying he had only partially implemented the orders of their father. She alleged that she had equal shares in Bharati Cements and Sakshi, but Jagan wanted to retain all of them.
“You have bulldozed everything. Yet, I and mother have accepted the offer made in the MoU,” she said.
Though Jagan clearly said all the companies she was mentioning were his own establishments and he had not inherited from YSR, Sharmila argues that since they were established when their father was alive, she too had rights in the properties.
“This is ridiculous. The companies were established and developed by Jagan and not YSR. So, Sharmila cannot ask for a share in it. Yet, Jagan offered to transfer some shares in Saraswati Power, apart from Rs 200 crore. So, how can she ask for more?” an analyst asked.
Tail piece: Sharmila says she has the support of mother Vijayamma in her claim over the properties of Jagan. To buttress her point, she said Vijayamma also put her signature on her letter to Jagan. But a factcheck of Vijayamma’s signature as found in earlier documents showed that her signature on Sharmila’s letter appears to be forged!