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Raju meets Modi: Against Jagan or CBI case?

Raju meets Modi: Against Jagan or CBI case?

The meeting of rebel YSR Congress party MP from Narasapuram parliamentary constituency in West Godavari district Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday triggered a lot of speculations.

Raju told reporters later that he had met the Prime Minister only to bring the issues of Andhra Pradesh to his notice.

He claimed that Modi was surprised to know about the alleged dictatorial functioning of Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“I brought everything to the notice of Modi – right from proposed formation of three capitals, privatisation of Vizag Steel Plant, attacks on temples and intimidation of political rivals. He responded positively on each issue. He appeared sympathetic towards steel plant issue,” he said.

Raju further claimed that the Prime Minister was shocked to know that the Jagan government had called for tenders for construction of churches.

“He wondered how the government itself can call for tenders for churches. He asked me to submit the details of the tender processes,” the MP said.

He also said he had requested Modi to intervene and prevent the shifting of capital from Amaravati.

“I told him Amaravati has taken its birth in the hands of the Prime Minister. It cannot be allowed to die,” Raju said.

Sources, however, said the Narasapuram MP had met the Prime Minister to bail him out of the pending CBI case against him in a bank fraud case.

In fact, the timing of the meeting also coincides with the Telangana high court’s direction to the CBI to probe the bank fraud case on Friday.

The high court  brought CBI’s banking security and fraud cell (BSFC) as a necessary party into the case of Ind-Barath Thermal Power Ltd and its director Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju and others, who challenged several banks’ action for describing their company account as a fraud account.

A bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy said the CBI could go ahead with it probe and wanted the CBI’s Delhi BSFC wing on board to look into the matter of declaring Ind-Barath account as fraud account. 

The banks were aggrieved with Ind-Barath defaulting in repaying Rs 860 crore loan it took and declared the company account as a fraud account in tune with an RBI circular that asked banks to do so. 

It may be recalled that a consortium of banks comprising Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank, Bank of India and Indian Bank had classified the company’s account as fraud at varying dates between November 2018 and February 2020.

It is not exactly known what assurance the Prime Minister had given Raju in this regard.

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Tags: Raghurama Krishnam Raju PM Modi