YS Jagan Demands CBI Probe Into Government-AgriGold Nexus

Hyderabad: YSR Congress Party chief and Leader of the main Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday demanded a CBI inquiry into the multi-crore AgriGold deposits scandal.Debating on the issue in the House, the Opposition leader said when Rs2,460-crore Sharada chit fund scam in West Bengal is being probed by the CBI, why should  Rs10,000-odd crore AgriGold scam not be taken up by the country's apex investigation agency? he questioned.

"Either the state government has vested interests in AgriGold's scandelous business or it must be trying to protect the company which had defrauded 40 lakh innocent depositers not only in AP and Telangana, but several other states across the country," YS Jagan said and argued that this scam is a fit case for CBI inquiry. Substantiating his charges against the government in the murky deals of the company, YS Jagan said despite a court order, the vice chairman and one of the main accused Sitaram Avvas was not arrested and measures were not taken to attach all the properties of the company.

Further, YS Jagan presented to the house with the proofs of minister Prathipati Pullarao's wife Venkayamma purchasing land properties from one of AgriGold's agent Uday Dinakar only a month back even after the High Court ordered the attachment of all its properties. "This is a clear proof of those who are in government are shielding the scamsters," he asserted. Even chief minister Chandrababu Naidu himself posed with the chairman of the company in 2001 although it was banned by SEBI in 1998, he said.