Amaravati: Ministers seek to corner Naidu over Income Tax department(I-T) raids on his ex-PS

Amaravati: The Cabinet ministers and the YSRCP leaders came down heavily on the TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday, holding him accountable for the allegedly ill-gotten money unearthed by the Income Tax department from his former personal secretary P Srinivas.

The YSRCP leaders criticised that the I-T raids on the houses of former personal secretary of Naidu revealed just the tip of the iceberg and many skeletons would tumble soon to prove that TDP leadership was fountainhead of corruption.

Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu said the I-T raids clearly proved how corrupt Naidu was. He wondered how many crores of fraud would come to light if raids were conducted on the houses of Chandrababu Naidu and his son Lokesh. He demanded an inquiry into Naidu's assets by the Enforcement Directorate. He said the inquiry would reveal how Naidu had plundered the government treasury, Kannababu said. He asked why Naidu was remaining silent over the I-T raids.

Minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy said the role of Naidu in the multi-crore scam was evident from the I-T raids. He demanded a CBI inquiry into it.

Minister Vellampalli Srinivas said that the Centre should look into the fraud committed by Naidu during his regime and pointed out that Naidu did not allow the CBI to enter the State as he was afraid that he would be exposed. He said that Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan was not reacting as he was also involved in the scam. Minister Cherukuvada Sriranganatha Raju said nobody can escape the clutches of law-enforcing authorities after committing financial frauds.

Minister Avanti Srinivas said he had mentioned even before the elections that corruption had reached its zenith during the execution of Polavaram and Pattiseema projects under the TDP regime.

He said Naidu was adept in money laundering and this could be gauged by the fact that Rs 2,000 crore was found in his personal secretary's possession.

Deputy Chief Minister Amzath Basha said Naidu's corrupt past would now be a talking point in the whole country and the Centre should initiate legal action against him.

Basha alleged that Nara Lokesh had indulged in collecting bribes for the execution of different projects. He said this was just the beginning of the exposure into the shady deals of Naidu and his cronies and there was much to come.

Minister Dharmana Krishna Das said people voted out Naidu as they wanted a corruption-free government. He said Naidu, Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan should be bold enough to react to the incriminating evidence found in the scam by the I-T raids.

Government Chief Whip Gadikota Srikanth Reddy said Naidu proved to be the brand ambassador for corruption which started with the Cash-for-Vote scam.

He said all those who were involved in the scam should be brought to book and added that Naidu was unnecessarily harping on the Amaravati capital issue just to outwit people of the corrupt practices that he had indulged in.