Shocking: YS Jagan’s Rs 222 Cr Travel Expenses Revealed!
Hold onto your seats, movie buffs and news hounds, because a political bombshell just dropped in Andhra Pradesh! Fresh reports reveal that former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy racked up an astonishing Rs 222.85 crore in air travel expenses during his five-year term. Yes, you read that right – Rs 222 crore of public money spent on helicopter and aircraft trips!
Key Takeaways:
- YS Jagan Mohan Reddy spent Rs 222.85 crore on air travel from 2019-2024.
- This massive bill covers helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and operational costs.
- The money came entirely from state funds.
- Current Minister Nara Lokesh reportedly paid for his own official travel.
- The revelation has sparked a major political fight in Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corporation Ltd (APACL) spilled the beans through an RTI (Right to Information) request, exposing the staggering sum spent between 2019 and 2024. Imagine, folks, nearly Rs 223 crore from the state’s treasury went towards keeping the former CM flying high! This includes a whopping Rs 87.02 crore for helicopters, Rs 112.50 crore for fixed-wing aircraft, and another Rs 23.31 crore for things like crew, boarding, and lodging.
What’s even wilder is that these expenses reportedly stayed high even during the tough COVID-19 lockdown period, when most people were stuck at home. Critics point out that Jagan Mohan Reddy often took helicopters for super short distances, like a mere 25 km trip from Tadepalli to Tenali, a journey that’s just a half-hour car ride!
This shocking news has kicked off a huge political storm. The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is hitting back hard, especially after the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had tried to accuse current IT Minister Nara Lokesh of misusing public funds for his travel. But guess what? RTI replies confirmed that Nara Lokesh paid for all 77 of his Hyderabad trips from his own pocket, not a single rupee from the government!
Minister Nara Lokesh himself didn’t hold back, saying that while people were struggling for jobs, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was flying around and even splurging Rs 500 crore on a palace. He famously quipped, “Andhra Pradesh deserved a vision, they got a vacation instead!” This revelation truly shows the stark contrast in how public money was handled. The air in Andhra Pradesh’s political scene just got a whole lot hotter!
