Amaravati, Oct 24 (PTI) YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy has refused his Bengaluru residence “Yelahanka Palace” to be used for the wedding of his niece, telling his sister and the bride’s mother, APCC president YS Sharmila, that “serious security concerns” prompted the decision.
The issue soon snowballed into another political flashpoint between archrivals TDP and YSRCP, with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu terming Reddy as “Kamsa” and accused him of creating hurdles in his niece’ wedding.
Hitting back, the YSRCP charged the CM, also the ruling TDP chief, of launching personal attacks against its party supremo in a bid to “divert” attention from the “atrocities” surrounding the local body polls in the state.
The YSRCP also released a letter Reddy recently wrote to his younger sister Sharmila, with whom his relations are strained, outlining the reasons for his disinclination to use “his Bangalore residence” to celebrate his niece Anjili’s wedding.
“Conducting wedding in the premises that I stay in would pose serious security concerns and thus the same was conveyed through various people (to Sharmila),” he said in the letter dated October 9.
“Please understand that for an event such as a wedding, it would involve a large number of people entering the property, including various service providers, catering staff, flower decoration teams, event management personnel, videographers and photographers, as well as the guests,” he said.
With so many people, majority of whom they don’t even know, coming in and out, and videos and photographs of the premises and of the surrounding areas in circulation would pose “serious security concerns,” the former Chief Minister said.
“Please know that this was not an easy decision to make. I have seen Jili (Anjili) grow up and want nothing but the best for her but yet the security and privacy risks just cannot be overlooked.”
Even if it were for Harsha or Varsha (his daughters), he would have done the same, Reddy added.
“I am currently living here and this type of an event would draw a lot of unnecessary attention along with security concerns,” Jagan stressed in the letter to his sister, who is also the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president.
“At the end of the day, this is my home and I want to ensure that me and my family are safe here. I was hurt that despite me conveying the very real privacy and security risks through various people, you still went ahead, ignoring my disapproval and concerns,” he said.
He urged her to consider his position on this matter and find another venue for the wedding.
“If you don’t want to use a convention centre or a destination wedding venue as you did for Raja’s (Sharmila’s son) wedding, I have even offered you to use my Hyderabad Lotus Pond property, and that offer still stands,” he emphasised.
“I truly wish for Jili’s wedding to be a special day that she looks back fondly on, and I want to make every reasonable effort to ensure that, but I ask that you also see things from my perspective on this matter.”
Jagan claimed that Sharmila was intending to use his Bengaluru residence for the wedding ignoring his concerns.
The APCC chief has already invited several high-profile persons for the wedding scheduled in November.
Moreover, Reddy underlined that he was very glad to hear about his niece getting married, adding, “despite all that has transpired over the past 7 years, I sincerely wish her a lifetime of happiness and love.”
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu accused Reddy of “creating hurdles for his niece’s wedding by denying permission for her marriage to be held in Yelahanka Palace in Bengaluru.”
Naidu compared Reddy to king ‘Kamsa,’ the evil maternal uncle of Lord Krishna whom he kills, for allegedly creating hindrances for his niece’s wedding.
He claimed that Reddy was “shunning family values” to do “injustice to mother and sister.”
“He (Reddy) is denying Yelahanka Palace for niece’s wedding. What a strange development. Sister (Sharmila) will also have her share in assets,” Naidu claimed.
The YSRCP accused Naidu of making personal attacks against Jagan to divert attention from the alleged “atrocities” unfolding during the ongoing local bodies polls, especially by wading into the family wedding venue issue.
In a statement, the opposition party slammed the CM for allegedly “spewing venom” on Reddy by “camouflaging the truth,” and making accusation against the YSRCP supremo.
“At a time when countrywide discussions are happening over election atrocities and how YSRCP candidates were being attacked to restrain them from filing nominations, Chandrababu stooped to a further low to make personal attacks against Jagan to divert the debate happening across the country and the state,” the party claimed in the statement.
There was no immediate response from Sharmila over the issue.
(PTI News)
