Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Galla Jayadev representing Guntur constituency announced his decision to refrain from contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, alleging that the union and the state government are using its agencies as “weapons” to target his business.
The Guntur MP was interrogated by the Enforcement directorate twice after his party, the TDP quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) moved a no- confidence motion against Prime Minister Modi in 2018.
Addressing the media on Sunday, January 28, Jayadev who is the chairman and MD of Amara Raja Batteries Limited, said that due to political and business limitations he could not speak in the parliament against the union government or state. “I want to work for a cause but cannot be a mere spectator," Jayadev said.
The MP said that his business is being affected because he is a politician, “To start a business, several approvals are required from the state, union, and other local agencies. These agencies can be used as weapons, and the same happened with us. We are fighting it legally," he said.
Jayadev is a two-time MP from Guntur, and a key member of the Telugu Desam Party. He served as a member of the Amaravati Planning Committee. He is also the brother-in-law of actor Mahesh Babu.
Speaking about the challenges he has faced as an MP, he said, “One cannot speak anything freely except according to the party line. It is different when the party is in coalition and in opposition." The MP made this statement in reference to the TDP-BJP’s earlier alliance. The TDP walked out of the alliance in 2018 for not granting special status to Andhra Pradesh under the AP Reorganization Act.