Amaravati, Nov 2 : YSR Congress Party President and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday condemned the arrest of party leader and former minister Jogi Ramesh in the spurious liquor case and alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was trying to escape after his fake liquor factories were exposed.

In a statement after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested Ramesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that since Chief Minister Naidu was caught red-handed after spurious liquor factories were unearthed, he, to escape from this, shamelessly conspired and illegally arrested a backward classes leader of the YSRCP.

"This is clearly an illegal arrest. I strongly condemn the arrest of Jogi Ramesh," the former CM said.

He told Chandrababu Naidu that he had been in power for the last 18 months, and the spurious liquor seized belonged to his current tenure. "Among those caught, starting from an MLA candidate who contested from your party, they are all people with the closest ties to you, your son, your ministers and your MLAs. The fake liquor you produced is sold entirely by the private liquor shops you introduced and by the belt shops and permit rooms run by your workers and leaders. So, the production is yours and you are the one who is selling, but you are throwing mud on our people and illegally arresting them," he said.

Jaga Mohan Reddy also alleged that to divert attention from the government's failure that caused the stampede at the Kasibugga temple and to cover up the farmers' sufferings due to Cyclone Montha, the government resorted to unlawful arrest and stooped to despicable levels.

The former Chief Minister mentioned that Ramesh filed a petition in the High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the fake liquor issue, and the very next day, he was arrested. "This shows how much you are trembling in fear. If you and your people have no role in the fake liquor issue, then why fear a CBI investigation?" he asked Naidu.

"The SIT in your pocket. It will do whatever you say. If you say sit, it sits. If you say, stand, it stands. Isn't it laughable that you are ordering an investigation into your own mafia dealings? In such a demonic rule, what can we expect from you'? he asked.

Senior YSRCP leaders Chelluboina Srinivasa Venugopalakrishna, Meruga Nagarjuna, Perni Nani, Ambati Rambabu, Kurasala Kannababu, Gadikota Srikanth Reddy, Margani Bharat and TJR Sudhakar Babu also strongly condemned the illegal arrest of former minister Ramesh, calling it a blatant act of political revenge and abuse of power by the coalition government.

They said Ramesh has been maliciously framed in the spurious liquor case only to harass him and target the YSRCP. 'The main accused, already in custody, was coerced into naming Jogi Ramesh. This isn't an investigation, this is political blackmail," the statement read.

They recalled that Ramesh publicly challenged these allegations and swore so before the Kanaka Durga Temple, yet TDP leaders have not responded.

/IANS