Politicians cry foul over arrest warrants

Andhra chief minister alleges Modi, Shah and Jagan behind ‘conspiracy’

Alower court in Maharashtra has issued a non-bailable warrant against Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and 15 others, in connection with a protest he led in the state against the Babili irrigation project in Nanded district, saying it was posing a threat to the interest of the then-Andhra Pradesh state.

Naidu, who was leader of opposition in the then united AP assembly, had crossed the border into Maharashtra along with 40 MLAs and several other party leaders, trying to reach the Babili project to protest alleging that it would impound more Godavari river water and turn northern Telangana region into a desert. He was arrested and spent many days in a Maharashtra jail, later released on bail. Since then, the case has been pending in court.

The development has created a stir in both the Telugu states, with TDP leaders both in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana suspecting political motivation behind the attempt to revive the case.

Former Union Civil Aviation minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju and TDP MP from Vijayawada, Kesineni Nani alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and the YSR Congress President YS Jaganmohan Reddy were the brains behind the conspiracy.