Chandrababu Naidu a ‘Thief’ Caught in Skill Scam: AAG

Tirupati: Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy has launched a scathing attack on the Telugu Desam (TD) chief and former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, terming him a "thief caught red-handed in the skill scam."

Addressing the media in Nellore on Wednesday, Sudhakar Reddy claimed that Naidu had siphoned off `371 crore in the name of the skill development project, disregarding objections raised by the finance department.

"During the TD term, Naidu looted the public treasury. Despite officials pointing out that the project was not in line with GO-4, Naidu's government went ahead with its plans, motivated by self-interest," Sudhakar Reddy alleged.

Providing details of the alleged scam, Reddy said the project did not follow the standard procedures and all norms were thrown to the wind by Naidu with a view to misusing the funds. "His intentions were mala fide right from the beginning," charged the AAG.

He informed that despite Naidu's acts of “omissions and commissions” that had “bled the state exchequer,” all facilities including air conditioning were being provided to him in jail out of a respect for his age and former stature.

"In fact, we have extended courtesies beyond what’s mandated in the jail manual. Still, some opposition leaders are unnecessarily alleging vendetta," said Sudhakar Reddy.

Dismissing the allegations of political vendetta, Sudhakar Reddy said the Supreme Court itself had ruled out any such motive in the case. “The SC also refused to quash the FIR lodged against Naidu in the scam,” he stressed.

He claimed that the Supreme Court bench’s order referring the case to a larger bench headed by the Chief Justice of India came as a big jolt to Naidu.

“This has dashed Naidu’s hopes of getting the case quashed on technical grounds. "The truth is that the scam has been exposed. The evidence against Naidu is overwhelming. The law is taking its course and the guilty will be punished," Sudhakar Reddy asserted.