Criminal Can\'t Escape Always, says Minister Rambabu

Visakhapatnam: “A criminal cannot always escape. He will be caught one day,” said irrigation minister Ambati Rambabu, referring to the arrest of former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Speaking to reporters in Tadepalli on Tuesday, Rambabu said that Naidu and his associates were not denying committing crimes, but were arguing that due process was not followed in his arrest.

“Naidu wants to escape by pointing out loopholes in the legal system. If the case is taken to the logical end, Naidu will get caught,” Rambabu said, adding that Naidu had never testified before a court of law.

He said the case against Naidu seemed to be strong and that he was not getting bail. A quash petition filed by Naidu is still pending.

Taking a dig at BJP state president Daggubati Purandeswari, Rambabu said that her one point agenda, whether in the Congress or the BJP, was to protect her brother-in-law, Chandrababu Naidu. She was even prepared to merge the Telugu Desam  with the BJP, he said.

Rambabu said that Purandeswari had asked Union home minister Amit Shah to initiate a probe into liquor sales in Andhra Pradesh. “There is no liquor scam in Andhra Pradesh. In fact, we are selling less liquor than Chandrababu Naidu sold in his regime,” he said.

“She didn’t go to Delhi to focus on liquor sales. She requested Amit Shah to free Naidu for which the TD would merge with the BJP,” Rambabu alleged.