Telugu Desam Party (TDP) State president K. Atchannaidu says that Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan’s decision to forge an alliance with his party is a historic move aimed at getting rid of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government headed by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose draconian rule has inflicted irreparable damage to the State.
Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest in the skill development corporation scam was a part of Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s political game, wherein he was trying to corroborate the charges framed by the CID without evidence, Mr. Atchannaidu said while addressing the media at the party office at Mangalagiri, near here, on September 16 (Saturday).
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy once again sought to rake up the cash-for-vote scandal to cause Mr. Naidu as much trouble as possible in spite of the fact that he had been given a clean chit in the matter by courts, he observed.
Mr. Atchannaidu said the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had shown irrefutable evidence of the illegal means through which Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy amassed huge wealth. On the other hand, there was no proof of the money trail in the skill development case to Mr. Naidu, or any one of his family members, as there was no scam at all.
He said it was shameful on Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s part to say that Siemens and other companies, which signed an agreement, had nothing to do with the alleged swindling of funds.
He said that Chief Ministers would sign on several files in the routine course, and that it was absurd to hold Mr. Naidu responsible for swindling funds that might have taken place during his rule.
‘Facts’ in public domain
The TDP had the courage to put facts related to the ‘skill development scam’ in the public domain by creating a website. This was in sharp contrast to the manner in which Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was bound by law to appear in the courts in a slew of quid pro quo cases, was avoiding it by leveraging his clout.
TDP national general secretary N. Lokesh dared the YSRCP leaders for an open debate on the skill development case but none of them had the courage to face him, and even the Chief Minister was silent on it for obvious reasons, Mr. Atchannaidu added.
