TDP supporters, who came out to observe a one-day fast protesting Chandrababu Naidu's arrest, were thwarted by the police in Kanigiri.
Published Sep 10, 2023 | 6:35 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 10, 2023 | 6:36 PM
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu
Several people — including some from abroad — extended support to former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday, 10 September, in the wake of his arrest in an alleged multi-crore corruption case, calling the police action illegal.
Global technology company Zoho’s Chief Executive Sridhar Vembu expressed shock over Naidu’s arrest.
“I was shocked to read that Chandrababu Naidu-ji was arrested yesterday. I know him and he worked so hard to bring so many companies, including Zoho, to Andhra Pradesh. I hope justice prevails,” said Vembu in a post on X.
I was shocked to read that Shri Chandrababu Naidu-ji was arrested yesterday. I know him and he worked so hard to bring so many companies, including Zoho, to Andhra Pradesh. I hope justice prevails. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/fYImuwAfIU
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) September 10, 2023
Meanwhile, TDP supporters, who came out to observe a one-day fast protesting Naidu’s arrest, were thwarted by the police in Kanigiri in the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, a party official said.
Similar protests were thwarted by police at Srikalahasti in the Tirupati district and Kovvuru in the East Godavari district, he added.
Earlier, the TDP shared a few videos of its overseas supporters protesting the arrest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in front of the British Parliament in London.
Currently, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is on a 10-day personal visit in London and is expected to return to the state on Monday.
Meanwhile, senior YSRCP leader and Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy asked why Naidu should not be arrested for his alleged role in several scams.
He alleged that the TDP chief was responsible for a list of irregularities, which included the AP-CRDA scam, AP-FibreNet scam, AP Skill Development scam, Amaravati land scam, ESI medical purchases scam, cash-for-votes scam in 2016, and call money scam.
A full-blown courtroom battle has been underway since daybreak on Sunday in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Court in Vijayawada for the dismissal of the remand report which sought Naidu’s judicial custody for 15 days.
Naidu was arrested by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in a pre-dawn swoop from Nandyal on Saturday for his alleged role in the ₹371-crore skill development scam when he was the chief minister of the state between 2014 and 2019.
Supreme Court lawyer Siddhartha Luthra and his team were waging the battle and, at one stage, Naidu, with the permission of the court, argued for himself.
He contended that he had nothing to do with the scam, and argued that the budget, which was approved by the Assembly, could not be challenged by filing criminal charges. He said that the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet had cleared the setting up of the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC).
He also said that as of 9 December, 2021, his name was not in the FIR. In the remand report filed then, the CID did not frame any charges against him, he noted, arguing that his arrest on Saturday was illegal and politically motivated.
Additional AG Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy, who appeared for the CID, said Naidu was presented in court within 24 hours as required by law.
He said that the CID arrested him in Nandyal at 6 am and that it had arrested eight persons so far in connection with the skill development scam.
The CID, in its remand report, sought 15 days’ judicial custody of Naidu under Section 167 of CrPC. Though the former chief minister was listed as Accused No 1 in the FIR, he was shown as Accused No 37, or A-37, in the remand report, which indicated that the CID would file another memo about the change of status.
The CID said that the arrest became necessary as the issue involved the misappropriation of at least ₹279 crore in a government project (development of centres of excellence in a tie-up with the private firm Siemens).
The investigation agency said that after reaching the office of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at Kunchanapalli near Tadepalli in the Guntur district on Saturday, Naidu was questioned about his role in the scam in the presence of two mediators.
He was given breaks as requested, and was allowed to consult his legal counsel and meet members of his family. He was questioned based on the note files which formed part of the evidence.
According to the agency, Naidu was non-cooperative and gave vague replies.
(With PTI inputs)
