YSRCP MP Raghu Rama Raju Arrested Weeks After Demanding Cancellation of Bail Granted To CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

Raju was arrested in Hyderabad on sedition charges, disturbing communal harmony, and attacking dignitaries of the Jagan Reddy government

Hyderabad: YSRCP MP Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju was arrested in Hyderabad by AP's Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Friday on charges of sedition, disturbing communal harmony, and attacking dignitaries of the Jagan Reddy government, the police said.

In a statement, the police said they “found that through his speeches on regular basis Mr. Raju was indulging in systematic, schematic effort to cause tensions among the communities and by attacking various government dignitaries in a way which will cause loss of faith in the government which they represent”.

Raju was arrested weeks after he demanded special CBI court to cancel the bail granted to Reddy. He alleged that the CM, released on bail in a disproportionate assets case pending since 2012, has been violating the bail conditions.

Raju was in Hyderabad to celebrate his 59th birthday on Friday when a CID police led by R Vijaya Paul, additional superintendent of police, Guntur, arrested him.

Raju and Reddy had a strained relation as this isn’t the first time that the former has gone against the YSRCP chief. Raju quit the YSRCP in 2014 after he didn’t get a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections and crossed over to the BJP. He moved out of the BJP in 2018 and switched to the Telugu Desam Party before returning to the YSR Congress in March 2019.

Raju was elected to the Lok Sabha but had an altercation with Jagan Reddy last year. He was issued a show-cause notice by the party in June 2020. Reddy hasn’t suspended so far but in October last year, it did ask Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to disqualify him.

Meanwhile, actor-turned-politician and Janasena party supremo, Pawan Kalyan condemned the arrest of Narsapuram MP and said this is not the appropriate time for arrests when people are battling the deadly virus.

Pawan Kalyan took to Twitter through Jana Sena Party handle and wrote: "This is not the appropriate time for arrest rather focus on saving Covid patients."