Shankar Rao to boycott media for 2 months

Handlooms And Textiles Minister P Shankar Rao on Monday denied having ‘beaten’ his aide Venkatesh at Vijayanagaram recently as allegedly published in a section of the press and vowed to boycott the media for two months.

Besides that, he also denied that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked him to file a court case against YSR Congress Party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy who allegedly amassed ‘illegal’ wealth using his father former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s official position.

The Minister made clear before the media persons at the Secretariat on Monday that he was on ‘record’ that he had made no such ‘statement’ but it was carried by a section of the print medium.

In this connection, Dr Shankar Rao asserted his position that he would sue the newspaper under question and file a defamation case against it.

It may be recalled here that a newspaper carried the news on its front page that the Minister at the behest of Congress chief Sonia  Gandhi had reportedly moved the Court against former MP of Congress party and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy for his alleged involvement in the land allotments to his business associates.

Stating that the credibility of the newspaper was at stake, the Minister said that it was not proper for resorting to yellow journalism.

On another count, Dr Shankar Rao, whose knack for pushing himself into the thick of controversies is well known, also denied having punched his assistant at Vijayanagaram recently.

The minister who was peeved over the publicity asserted that he would observe silence and boycott the media in general for two months.