Former Housing Minister Jogi Ramesh, a prominent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader, and his brother Jogi Ramu were moved to Nellore Central Prison on Monday night, following their arrest in connection with a large-scale spurious liquor manufacturing and sales operation in Andhra Pradesh. As news spread, hundreds of YSRCP leaders and activists quickly gathered at the Chemudugunta jail premises to show their solidarity.
En route to the Central Jail, YSRCP’s Nellore district president, Kakani Govardhan Reddy, and Nellore city in-charge, Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy, managed to briefly speak with the Jogi brothers, offering words of encouragement. Several other senior YSRCP figures also made their presence known, expressing support for the siblings facing charges in the alleged illicit liquor case.
Addressing the media afterwards, Govardhan Reddy vehemently claimed that Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s government had unfairly framed Jogi Ramesh in the fake liquor case. He asserted that Ramesh’s arrest was retaliation for his protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence, where he condemned derogatory remarks made by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders against former Chief Minister and YSRCP chief, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Reddy further accused Naidu and his allied ‘yellow’ media of fabricating narratives about an attack on Chandrababu’s house to garner public sympathy. He alleged that the Chief Minister was misusing his power to file cases against political opponents, highlighting that the primary suspect in the spurious liquor case was someone Naidu himself had endorsed with a B-Form in the Thamballapalle Assembly constituency.
Kakani also claimed that the Chief Minister had orchestrated the escape of the main accused from the country, subsequently implicating Jogi Ramesh in a manufactured case, reportedly based solely on the oral testimony of a witness named Janardhan Reddy. He further alleged that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed with favored officials specifically to concoct false charges against dissenting voices.
Echoing these sentiments, MLC Chandrasekhar Reddy accused the current coalition government of engaging in ‘diversionary politics’ by illegally arresting YSRCP leaders on unrelated charges. He specifically claimed that TDP leaders in Thamballapalle were illegally producing and selling cheap liquor for just ₹10 per bottle, profiting at the cost of public lives.
Meanwhile, Nellore Central Prison Superintendent V. Sanyasi Rao confirmed that the Jogi brothers underwent standard medical examinations upon arrival and were assigned prisoner numbers 7177 and 7178. He noted that while they had requested special privileges, no such provisions had been granted at the jail as of now.