Jagan Reddy meets Mamata, seeks support for united Andhra

A special CBI court on Tuesday allowed the plea of YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, facing corruption charges, to visit Kolkata and Lucknow to mobilise the support of parties like Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party against the move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. [caption id=“attachment_1240273” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jagan Reddy. AFP.[/caption] Trinamool Congress chief is also battling the demand for a Gorkhaland state in the northern parts of West Bengal. The meeting also assumes importance in view of the 2014 general elections, with many observers feeling that the regional parties could play an important role in government formation at the centre. The outcome of the meeting was yet unknown. Banerjee has already urged the regional parties to come together. The court permitted the Kadapa MP, who in separate applications requested to allow him to visit Kolkata to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday and Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav on November 21. The court had dismissed Jagan’s plea on Monday seeking further relaxation on his bail conditions by allowing him to visit other states and observed that blanket permission for visiting other states could not be considered since the elections in AP were not around and suggested the petitioner to approach it whenever he intends to visit state/place outside Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. Jagan, who was arrested in May last year, got bail in the corruption case on September 23 this year, with the court asking the Kadapa MP not to leave the state capital without its permission. However, the court had on October 30 allowed his plea for relaxing the bail conditions to enable him to visit different parts of Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. Jagan had in the applications submitted that being an MP and leader of a political party, he has to meet leaders of different political parties (in view of the prevailing situation in the state in the wake of announcement to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh) and travel frequently. The applications further said that he intends to try to convince all the national political leaders on the stand adopted by him and his political party and bring a consensus against the division of the state (Andhra Pradesh) by unifying the entire state. Agencies