National leaders condemn arrest of Naidu

Vijayawada: Several national leaders have condemned the arrest of Telugu Desam leader Nara Chandrababu Naidu in the AP skill development scam.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav described Naidu’s arrest as illegal. He met TD senior leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and inquired about Naidu’s condition.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah condemned the arrest and opined that the AP government made a mistake. He alleged that the government was trying to weaken Naidu by sending him to jail and sounded confident that such a move would benefit him in the coming elections.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee opined that Naidu’s arrest would boomerang on the YSR Congress government. She said that if something went wrong in a programme, inspection and inquiry should be done but she would not support Naidu’s arrest.

Meanwhile, a round-table meeting was held under the aegis of the CPI with the participation of leaders from TD, Jana Sena and the Leftists. It expressed concern over the way Naidu was arrested and said this hurt the cause of democracy.