Hyderabad: Former MP V Vijayasai Reddy, who was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for about seven hours at its Basheerbagh office on Thursday, claimed that former AP chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had no knowledge about the alleged liquor scam. “Whoever was involved in the liquor scam can give information. I can’t give any information as I was not involved in any way. Jagan did not know about any liquor scam and I told the same to ED. Raj Kasireddy is the karta, karma, kriya,” he said.He said he was asked by ED if he was “number 2” in the party (YSRCP), how did he not know about the issue. “Jagan himself told me there is no number 2 in the party. In regional parties, there is no number 2. From 1 to 100, it is the top leader only,” he said.He alleged that after cases were booked, YSRCP social media and a “coterie” started calling him number 2. “If it’s a criminal case, I am branded as number 2; in other issues, I am not number 2,” he said. He claimed that when the YSRCP govt came to power in 2019, he was initially given the “number 2” position by Jagan. “By 2020, my number 2 position was gone. I started slipping down in Jagan’s heart as the coterie created insecurity in him and tried to make him believe that I would backstab him, citing the example of Chandrababu Naidu backstabbing NTR. I was sidelined from 2020. I told the same to ED,” Vijayasai said.When asked if he left the party because of the liquor scam, he said he did not believe a liquor scam happened. “I left because I lost the place in Jagan’s heart and due to harassment by the coterie.” The former MP further alleged that “Jagan’s coterie” and “YSRCP social media” are accusing him of “looting hundreds of crores” in Visakhapatnam. “I will disclose all my properties. If Aurobindo Group started any business, their properties are not mine. My daughter is married into their family. That doesn’t mean their properties are mine,” he said.He also made it clear that he would never turn approver and no one can force him to become one. “If I was involved, I would have turned approver already,” he said.He said he wants to enter politics again and would decide his path after Jan 25, the day he quit the Rajya Sabha. He hinted at a new political force and said it could be aligned with the BJP, adding that Narendra Modi was the best Prime Minister, nationally and internationally.
