Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Raja Reddy started mining barytes, a mineral whose price increased sharply in the
mid-1970s when it began to be used in petroleum. 'The mines in Mangampeta were owned
by one Venkatasubbaiah, but Raja was quickly able to cajole the mine owner into becom-
ing his junior partner,' reported
The Times
. 'A few years later, or so the story goes, Raja
wanted to buy the mines and, when Venkatasubbaiah refused, the latter was mysteriously
found murdered. Who murdered him was a question that was debated for long, but Raja
went on to take full control of the mines. Raja then convinced YSR to help him out in
his business.' An elderly villager who went to court in 1992 to stop his nephew's 1.8 acre
mineral-rich land being mined by YSR 'had his hands and legs broken,' reported the
EPW
.
'With the money flowing from the barytes mines in his pockets, YSR was in a position to
undertake the transformation of “village factions” into full-fledged instruments of political
and economic domination at the highest level'. Raja Reddy was killed in a bomb attack on
his car in 1998 that was allegedly carried out by political and business rivals. His death led
to riots and one of his attackers was hacked to death.
36
YSR answered the
EPW
article with an extraordinary letter that spent more time para-
phrasing the accusations than rebutting them. It started by saying that the article had depic-
ted him as 'a man who created terror and involved in bloodshed for the narrowest possible
cause for rising in public life and gaining prominence and political power', and 'as one per-
son who is up to any crooked enactment in gaining political benefits with an ultimate goal
of gaining power in the state and as one of the pioneers of creating a nexus between polit-
ics, crime and money.'
37
He wrote that 'all the allegations and imputations made against
me are totally false.'
Father, Son and Cronies
While he was chief minister, YSR moved on from the usual pattern of corruption - politi-
cians and bureaucrats taking bribes in return for favours - and secured the loyalty of his
supporters by providing business opportunities for contractors in unregulated, over-priced
and scam-ridden irrigation, highways and other projects. The contractors and developers
showed their gratitude by taking stakes in companies run by Jagan, mainly in a media busi-
ness called Sakshi, and politicians and others cronies invested in the development and real
estate schemes. Instead of just taking kickbacks, YSR's family and political associates be-
came joint investors and stakeholders with their business contacts.
'He converted his key supporters into businessmen, industrialists, contractors and re-
altors,' wrote Bharat Bhushan, then the editor of India's
Mail Today
, in an article titled
the leader was based on pure economic interest, and the loyalty of a majority of the 156
