Not long ago, to be precise in March 2023, Telugu Desam Party general secretary who was then MLC, described a company which signed agreement with the then Jagan Mohan Reddy government, as bogus which had no worth.
The company – Indosol, had entered into an MoU with the then Jagan government during the Global Investors Summit held at Visakhapatnam, promised to bring investments worth Rs 76,000 crore in the state. Jagan offered 25,000 acres of land to this company.
Lokesh then alleged that Indosol was a bogus company.
“All the directors of Indosol company belong to Andhra’s Pulivendula. The company was formed only in 2022 with an initial investment of Rs 1 lakh; yet it has announced that it will invest Rs 76,000 crore and Jagan allotted 25,000 acres land to this company, which is a big racket,” he said.
Two years later, Lokesh is a de facto chief minister in Andhra Pradesh and is calling the shots in the government.
He is now showing unprecedented support for the same Indosol company and allotted 8,234 acres of land at Karedu village in Nellore district.
The farmers in Karedu village are strongly resisting the land acquisition for this company; yet, the Naidu government is going ahead with plans for Indosol, refusing to back down and gave the cabinet nod.
Interestingly, Indosol is linked to another company called Shirdi Sai Electricals, which reportedly received numerous benefits during Jagan’s tenure — many of which are still in force.
It is alleged that almost all contracts, from transformers to other sectors, were awarded to this company.
What’s surprising the TDP leaders and cadre is that Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Lokesh, who would otherwise fiercely oppose anything linked to Jagan, are now not only protecting these companies but also facilitating their interests in a big way.
Lokesh had criticized Jagan’s government for signing fake MoUs, but now, the coalition government itself is handing out large-scale projects — including power projects — to such companies.
Despite the criticism from different quarters, Lokesh remains tight-lipped. Surprisingly, even the YSRCP is silent – as it has its own stakes in the project!
