Even while the Telangana issue is still burning, the Andhra Pradesh state has to grapple with another burning issue. Reliance outlets across the state were attacked by angry mob when a Telugu news channel, TV5 beamed news that former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy?s death was not due to an accidental helicopter crash but was a case of sabotage. Quoting a Russian web portal, The Exile, the channel hinted that KG basin issue could also be the cause of the dispute.
Following a complaint by the Reliance Group, the Andhra Pradesh police have filed a case against TV5 channel over the report. ?A case has been registered against TV5 and we are in the process of collecting evidence, including video tapes of the news footage beamed by TV5 that alleged that the Ambani brothers were behind the helicopter crash in which Reddy was killed on September 2, last year,?? police sources said. There are over 127 stores of RIL in the state out of which 72 are in Hyderabad, which became the target for the rampage.
In a statement, RIL spokesperson said: ?We are shocked and outraged at the false, malicious, motivated and libelous news on TV5 channel concerning the fatal mishap of YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter. We condemn, rebut and reject the allegation with the contempt it deserves. It is the dirty handiwork of our business rivals in cahoots with TV5. RIL is a law abiding corporate citizen. We mourned the untimely and tragic death of YS Rajasekhara Reddy as much as anyone else. However, we cannot and will not let this criminal attempt by TV5 to besmirch our reputation.?
The Anil Ambani-led ADAG spokesperson said: ?It is a malicious and criminal disinformation campaign has been engaged into by our corporate rivals, leading to substantial loss and damage to our several offices and businesses of Reliance ADA Group in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday evening. We are shocked to see our corporate rivals stooping down to new levels of desperation by engaging in such baseless rumor-mongering.?
Besides corporate rivalry, sources in the state government said that this could be a move to destabilise the present Rosaiah government due to enmity in the ruling party itself. Another issue could be the sharing of gas reserves from the K-G basin. The Joint Action Committee of Andhra Pradesh, which is against a separate Telangana state, had asked Reliance Industries Ltd to completely stop its oil and gas operations on the east coast last month.
Meanwhile, the state government on Friday asked the Centre to expedite the CBI investigation into the death of YSR.