Government adviser says no political vendetta in Naidu's arrest
The government adviser pointed out that the Income Tax notice to Chandrababu Naidu had been based on clinching evidence
Vijayawada: Ruling YSRC government has stated that the arrest of Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu is an outcome of a thorough probe and not politically motivated.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, adviser to government Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy maintained that Naidu’s arrest comes in the wake of strong evidence about his involvement in the skill development scam. He described the scam as the worst deep-rooted economic offence in the history of independent India.
The government adviser pointed out that the Income Tax notice to Chandrababu Naidu had been based on clinching evidence. CID officials too have arrested Naidu for further questioning only after gathering strong evidence against the former CM. “YSRC has no intention to do any politics. It is Naidu who has been making political statements during the last one week that he would be arrested. He is only trying to evoke sympathy. Government is following due process of law,” Ramakrishna Reddy explained.
He described Chandrababu Naidu as the kingpin of skill development scheme scam. Kickbacks had been collected through shell companies. CID registered an FIR on December 9, 2021 following the scam. It thoroughly probed the case and based on evidence, the department has arrested Chandrababu for questioning after following due procedure. The government adviser maintained that the TD president is not above law.
The arrest has been made based on merits of the case. The rest will be decided by courts of law, he stated. Ramakrishna Reddy pointed out that the Enforcement Directorate has already arrested four persons in the case – Siemens ex-MD Somyadri Sekhar alias Suman Bose, Design Tech Systems MD V.V. Khanvilkar, financial adviser Mukul Chandra Agarwal and chartered accountant Suresh Goyal of Skiller Enterprises. They are presently in judicial custody.