The ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday came out with documents to show that YSR Congress party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had splurged money on his air travel during his five-year tenure.
The documents, obtained through RTI from Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corporation Ltd (APACL), were released to the media and even national media houses like NDTV played up the reports prominently in the channels.
According to the documents, Jagan Mohan Reddy spent Rs 222.85 crore of public money on helicopter and aircraft travel between 2019 and 2024.
The expenditure included Rs 87.02 crore on helicopters, Rs 112.50 crore on fixed-wing aircraft, and Rs 23.31 crore on boarding, crew handling and lodging was fully drawn from the state treasury.
Apparently, the TDP released the documents to counter the claims made in Jagan’s media house Sakshi stating that party general secretary and state IT minister Nara Lokesh had taken “77 flights to Hyderabad” at government expense.
The RTI replies from four different departments headed by Lokesh confirmed in writing that Lokesh did not claim a single rupee for any official travel, with every ticket - including special flights paid entirely from his personal income.
“Sakshi and YSRCP's lies stand clearly exposed in front of the masses now. They should be ashamed for trying to fool people of the state with their false propaganda. Contrasting to their claims, now YS Jagan’s 'vacationing' on state's expenses has been exposed. Will Sakshi demand accountability from Jagan?” the TDP party asked.
Interestingly, Lokesh also tweeted on X about the TDP revelations saying: “While people struggled for jobs and amenities, their CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was splurging Rs 500 crore on a palace and Rs 222 crore on flying around. We’re finally hearing the truth. Andhra Pradesh deserved a vision - they got a vacation instead.”
The TDP said as the figures now stand, while Jagan Mohan Reddy’s air travel alone drained over Rs 222 crore from public funds, RTI-verified evidence shows Lokesh’s air travel cost Andhra Pradesh nothing - a contrast that speaks volumes about accountability & leadership.
But one wonders why the TDP is comparing Jagan’s travel expenses with that of Lokesh, as Jagan was the chief minister between 2019 and 2024 and was entitled to travel by special flights and helicopters.
“The party should disclose the amount spent on chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s flight expenses in his earlier term between 2014 and 2019 and in the present term from June 2024 till now. Is Naidu not travelling by helicopter and special flights almost every day now? How much is he spending on the same? Let the Aviation Academy disclose the details,” an analyst argued.
