The letter written by Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party leader and Narsaraopet MP Lavu Krishna Devarayalu to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday evening, making serious allegations against YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, has sparked widespread debate in the political and media circles of the state.
One section of the media has justified the letter, stating that as the parliamentary party leader of the TDP, Krishna Devarayalu has every right to write to Shah and seek action against Jagan.
The letter accuses Jagan of making provocative statements against the TDP-led coalition government and threatening police officials for allegedly aligning with the ruling party.
However, critics argue that Devarayalu lacks the moral authority to level such accusations, given that he was a member of the YSRCP until just last year, before defecting to the TDP ahead of the general elections.
“This is the height of hypocrisy,” said a political analyst. “Every issue he raised in the letter — whether related to the CBI cases against Jagan or the chargesheet in the Y S Vivekananda Reddy murder case — happened while he was part of the YSRCP.”
The analyst pointed out that Krishna Devarayalu had joined the YSRCP despite being fully aware of the legal cases pending against Jagan, and he had even contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Narsaraopet on a YSRCP ticket.
“How can he now act as if these issues are new or shocking?” the analyst questioned.
Furthermore, the MP reportedly lobbied hard to secure the YSRCP ticket for a second term in 2024.
“He switched to the TDP only after being denied the ticket. Had he been renominated by Jagan, would he be making these allegations today?” the analyst asked.
YSRCP sources claim that Krishna Devarayalu was never fully loyal to the party, allegedly due to caste-based political preferences.
“Even while he was in the YSRCP, he would often ignore instructions from the leadership to hold press conferences or criticize TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu. Though he wore the YSRCP badge, his heart always remained with the TDP,” party sources alleged.