Hyderabad : Jailed former minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana’s brother Haranath made a startling charge the minute he joined the YSR Congress in the presence of the party’s honorary president Y S Vijayamma here on Friday.

Speaking to the media in the presence of Vijayamma, he has alleged that the union minister Panabaka Lakshmi offered to bring his brother out of jail, if he gave evidence against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. He said his brother did not agree to it and added that this was the reason for Congress keeping him in the jail.

Haranath explained that he met the union minister when Mopidevi Venkata Ramana was arrested and sought her help. She told him to make his brother turn an approver, implicating Jagan, so that he could be brought out. He said even the health minister Kondru Murali had not responded when they went to him seeking medical help to Mopidevi.

Speaking on the occasion, Vijayamma said the 26 GOs case was a politically motivated conspiracy. She lamented that while her late husband Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy brought Congress to power twice, his name was included in the FIR in the Jagan assets case. She alleged that the government was adopting a different attitude with regard to different individuals in respect to the 26 GOs. She said Mopidevi was made a scapegoat to arrest Jagan and thanked everyone joining the party due to affection towards Jagan. She has charged that Congress leaders assured to bring Mopidevi out of jail within a week when he was arrested. Alleging that the Congress and the TDP colluded against Jagan, she said the day when their sins would explode on their faces was not far off.

Apart from Harinath, Mopidevi’s son Rajiv, other family members and several former MPTCs and Sarpanches joined the YSR Congress. Haranath said they did not expect any positions in return for joining the party. He said they would gift maximum number of seats to Vijayamma in the ensuing local body elections. He said he wanted to see Jagan as the Chief Minister.