Chandrababu Naidu’s house likely to be demolished

Vijayawada: A day after he announced the demolition of the Praja Vedika, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy created a flutter on Tuesday, saying that former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu continues to live in an illegal building.  He asked if this was a best practice of his governance.

Mr Reddy was speaking on the concluding day of the two-day collectors’ conference on Tuesday in which senior police officials drawn from various parts of the state took part. He ordered that by October 1, all belt shops should be removed across the state.

Hinting that the private guest house in which Mr Naidu has been living since 2015 will also be razed as it is alleged to be an illegal building, Mr Reddy stressed that the entire road will be cleared, beginning with the demolition of the Praja Vedika.

“In front of our eyes, the former chief minister himself lives in illegal buildings next to this building (Praja Vedika). Was nobody there to stop what he was doing? Is this good governance or the best practice? I ask all of you to consider that when we are in power and in a position of strength, it comes with the responsibility of living by example.  We need to set certain standards. When we fail in it, do we have any moral right or authority to question anybody else?” Mr Reddy said.

He added, “I say to all of you sitting here — say no to corruption, say no to looting, say no to illegal activities and start cleaning up the system. I am holding this meeting here to tell you that this is not how one should behave. I request you that let us start demolition from here, from this building, from tomorrow. We want to send a signal, a message.  Once we start from here, the entire road will be cleared.  Let us not stop here. I want you all to take up the exercise in all districts as well.”