CBI court permits Jagan to visit Bhubaneswar, Mumbai

Hyderabad: A special CBI court granted permission to YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to visit Bhubaneswar and Mumbai as part of his state tours, to meet leaders of political parties to lobby for a "united" Andhra Pradesh.

Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy, who faces corruption charges, would reach Bhubaneswar on Sunday to meet Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik, after which he would proceed to Mumbai to meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Earlier, he had filed separate petitions in the court seeking its permission to visit Bhubaneswar and Mumbai while another petition seeking permission to visit Chennai was adjourned to November 25.

Referring to his petitions seeking further relaxation on his bail conditions by allowing him to visit other states, the court had observed on Monday that blanket permission for visiting other states could not be considered, since elections in the state were not around the corner.

The court suggested that he should approach it, whenever he intends to visit places outside the state and Delhi. Jagan, who was arrested in May last year, got bail in the corruption case on September 23 this year, though the court asked the Kadapa MP not to leave the city without its permission.

However, on October 30, the court allowed his plea for relaxation of his bail conditions, in order to enable him to visit different parts of the state and Delhi.

Later, Jagan filed applications in the court that being an MP and YSR Congress leader, he had to meet leaders of different political parties, due to the prevailing situation in the state, after the announcement to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and travel frequently.

His applications said that he intended to convince all national political leaders about the stand taken by him and his political party in order to bring about a consensus against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.