Naidu accuses govt of ‘witch-hunting’
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu stepped up his anti-bjp offensive on Thursday, accusing the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) of using people suspected of criminal wrongdoing to undertake witchhunts against him and his government.
In his address to the state legislative council, Naidu — also the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president — referred to a statement by YSR Congress MP V Vijay Sai Reddy that he would continue to meet PM Narendra Modi until the CM was jailed. “I don’t need Chandrababu Naidu’s permission to meet the PM. I will continue to meet the PM to submit all the evidence at my disposal on the corruption charges against Naidu...” Sai Reddy told mediapersons in Delhi on Wednesday.
Naidu alleged that Sai Reddy was an economic offender, and the “accused no 2” in CBI cases filed against YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy. “Now he is seen in the PMO, regularly. How can the PM allow an accused in criminal cases into his office? What message is the PMO sending by entertaining a person who threatens to put me behind bars?” he asked.
In his response, BJP state president K Hari Babu said, “Sai Reddy is an MP, and has every right to approach the PMO. He is an accused, not a convict. He is an accused, not a convict. If the charges against him are proved, he will be disqualified and stripped of access to the PMO,” he said.
In a teleconference with seniors earlier in the day, Naidu had expressed apprehensions that the Centre may resort to witch-hunt against him and the ruling party.
He was referring to a demand put forth by BJP floor leader P Vishnu Kumar Raju the previous day for a CBI or judicial probe into the alleged misappropriation of ₹371 crore in executing the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme.
Meanwhile, the TDP chief also demanded demonetisation of ₹2,000 and ₹500 notes to root out corruption, particularly in politics. Replying to a debate in the state assembly in Amaravati, the CM also suggested that the push for cashless transactions should continue with more vigour.
OPPN BLOCKS ANDHRA HIGHWAYS OVER STATUS
Thousands of commuters and vehicles were stranded and interstate travel hit in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, with the opposition calling for a “national highway blockade” in support of its demand for a special status for the state.
Opposition members blocked all crossings on all major highways including the ChennaiKolkata, Visakhapatnam-raipur, Vijayawada-hyderabad and Hyderabad-bengaluru highway.