Andhra division: Court permits Jagan to meet Mamata, Akhilesh

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Tuesday allowed the plea of YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, facing corruption charges, to visit Kolkata and Lucknow to mobilise the support of parties like the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party against the move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

The court permitted the Kadapa MP, who in separate applications requested to allow him to visit Kolkata to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday and Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav on November 21.

The court had on Monday dismissed Jagan's plea seeking further relaxation on his bail conditions by allowing him to visit other states and observed that blanket permission for visiting other states could not be considered since the elections in AP were not around and suggested the petitioner to approach it whenever he intends to visit a state/place outside Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.

Jagan, who was arrested in May last year, got bail in the corruption case on September 23 this year, with the court asking the Kadapa MP not to leave the state capital without its permission. However, the court had on October 30 allowed his plea for relaxing the bail conditions to enable him to visit different parts of Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.

Jagan had in the applications submitted that being an MP and leader of a political party, he has to meet leaders of different political parties (in view of the prevailing situation in the state in the wake of announcement to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh) and travel frequently.

The applications further said that he intends to try to convince all national political leaders on the stand adopted by him and his political party and bring a consensus against the division of the state (Andhra Pradesh) by unifying the entire state.