In a surprise development, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, while denying “political vendetta” in the arrest of archrival N Chandrababu Naidu said it was the Narendra Modi Government that initiated an investigation against the TDP president.
Addressing a party meeting in Vijayawada, he said the Central government engaged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (IT) Department in the investigation after coming to know about corruption during Naidu’s tenure as chief minister.
Later, launching the ‘Why AP needs Jagan’ campaign on the occasion in the presence of 8,000 people, including party MPs, MLAs, and other senior officials, Reddy exhorted the party workers to pull up their socks and ensure YSRCP’s victory in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections which he predicted would be scheduled for March next year.
He said the party’s manifesto for the elections would be released in February.
Asked about TDP chief’s arrest, the YSRCP leader said, “I have nothing to do with Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest. I have no vengeance against him. His arrest is not an act of revenge or political vendetta. I was in London when police arrested Naidu.”
He said Naidu could have easily got bail if it was a matter of political vendetta.
Taking a dig at his political rival, Reddy said Naidu’s former ally, the BJP, is ruling at the Centre, while his foster son Pawan Kalyan is still in alliance with the saffron party. He pointed out that Naidu’s close family member is the state president of BJP and half of the state BJP unit consists of former TDP leaders.
“It was the Central agencies – the ED and the Income Tax Department – which exposed Naidu’s scams,” he said claiming that Naidu had evaded investigation by deliberately barring the CBI during his tenure.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed three bail petitions filed by the TDP chief in different cases. Naidu had moved the court seeking regular bail petitions in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road and Angallu attack cases and an anticipatory bail petition in the FiberNet case.