Roja Seeks Arrest of Naidu by CBI or ED

VIJAYAWADA: Tourism minister R.K. Roja, in a fresh offensive, has asked Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu to show courage and face a probe into the Rs 118 crore Amaravati kickbacks case.

“Or, he will opt for other options to halt the inquiry, like getting a mental certificate as Nandamuri Balakrishna did. No one will feel sorrow if Naidu is arrested. The people will rather celebrate his arrest for his corruption and other illegalities,” the minister said here.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Roja said the people would gain “if Chandrababu and Nara Lokesh are put behind the bars.”

She recalled that Naidu had a habit of playing dramas to win people’s sympathy whenever he was caught in a corruption case. “Chandrababu escaped from Hyderabad and landed at Karrakatta when he was caught in the Vote-for-Note scam.”

“Chandrababu tried to gain public sympathy from the Alipiri bomb explosion by conducting elections, but it boomeranged on him as the people did not fall into the sympathy trap of Naidu and voted against the TD in those elections,” Roja said.

The minister said Chandrababu played another sympathy drama by saying Prime Minister Modi would arrest him before the 2019 elections. The public saw through his game and pulled him down from the government due to huge corruption and illegalities,” she said.

Roja urged the CBI and ED to probe into the Rs 118 crore scam and arrest Chandrababu. “TD founder NTR's soul would cheer if Chandrababu is kept behind the bars,” she said.