Despite repeated warnings from Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to his cabinet ministers not to give any scope for allegations of corruption, some of them continue to indulge in various acts of omission and commission.
One such minister is state home minister Vangalapudi Anitha, who has been facing allegations of corruption through her personal assistant Sandhu Jagadish, against whom Naidu reportedly received a lot of complaints from his own party leaders.
According to sources, Naidu pulled up Anitha recently and asked her to sack the PA from the post, after producing enough evidence against him. Anitha had no option but to remove Jagadish from the post, much to the jubilation of the TDP leaders.
Sources said right from the beginning, Jagadish has faced accusations of engaging in illegal collections for transfers, postings, and recommendations, as well as involvement in settlements.
Having been associated with Anitha for the last 10 years, he has become all the more powerful after she became the home minister.
Jagadish reportedly behaved as if he were the second-in-command, showing little regard even for prominent leaders.
Several TDP leaders and others who were coming to Anitha for various matters have long expressed dissatisfaction with Jagadish's rude behaviour.
Despite numerous complaints, Anitha refused to remove him, as a result of which Jagadish continued with his alleged illegal activities were continuing under her protection.
Some of the charges against Jagadish was that he has been operating gambling dens in two locations in S. Rayavaram Mandal for nearly a month and in Palvinpet of Payakaraopeta Mandal for several days.
Jagadish is also accused of pressuring excise officials to favour certain license holders in alcohol shop shares. There were also allegations that he had sold bundle of Tirumala darshan recommendation letters from the Home Minister's office to a private hotel in Tirupati.
Recently, some TDP leaders from S Rayavaram mandal, unable to tolerate Jagadish's intimidation and corruption, held an internal meeting to bring his misconduct to the home minister's attention. But Jagadish allegedly threatened the participants over the phone.
Having no other option, the TDP leaders brought them to the notice of Naidu along with evidence against Jagadish. After getting a strong reprimand from Naidu, Anitha eventually removed Jagadish from his position.