Chandrababu Naidu will be arrested, say Andhra ministers

Vijayawada, Sep 7 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh ministers and leaders of ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Thursday predicted that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will be arrested in Rs 118 crore kickbacks case.

They said Naidu perhaps realised that he may be arrested and hence made a statement on Wednesday that he may be taken into custody in a day or two. They also alleged that the TDP leader is enacting a drama to gain public sympathy.

YSRCP parliamentary party leader V. Vijayasai Reddy said the TDP chief was trying to gain public sympathy. He said in the past Chandrababu Naidu had cried publicly saying his wife was humiliated.

Naidu had predicted on Wednesday that the state government would arrest him in a day or two by foisting false cases against him.

His remark came a day after the AP Police's CID decided to launch a probe against him in view of the I-T notice served on him over Rs 118 crore, which, the Central agency alleged, was part of the kickbacks received by him from infrastructure companies.

Tourism Minister R K. Roja said that Naidu will definitely go to jail. She also said that people will celebrate his arrest and that this will give peace to the late N.T. Rama Rao.

She remarked if Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh are jailed, this will be good for people. She demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) should question Naidu.

"Whenever he is caught red-handed, he enacts dramas to gain sympathy," Roja said.

She alleged that Naidu came running to the state after he was caught in note for vote case in Hyderabad and that he will not get any sympathy from his drama.

"He did not get any sympathy when there was a bomb attack on him at Alipiri. People are so angry with him."

She claimed that before 2019 elections he had played similar drama by challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrest him.

Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu also said that Naidu is trying to get public sympathy, alleging that he was scared as he was caught red-handed.

Rambabu said that all are equal before law and the law will take its own course, adding that Naidu will be arrested if there is a need to arrest him.

YSRCP MP Nandigam Suresh said Naidu should be arrested and questioned. Terming that Amaravati as capital was "self-finance" for him", he claimed that Naidu and Lokesh earned thousands of crores in the name of the capital.