Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has called his predecessor, Chandrababu Naidu, “the actor and architect of the skill development corporation scam,” while disparaging Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan “for utilising the jail meeting to seal the TDP-JSP alliance”.
In his first public reaction to Naidu’s arrest by the Crime Investigation Department last Saturday, Jagan said that the TDP chief “was arrested with all the proof of him being the kingpin, including official file notings objecting to funds transfer, and his signatures in 13 places on the related documents”.
“Naidu’s arrest shows that no one is above the law,” Jagan said Saturday in a public meeting at Nidadavolu in East Godavari district, where he released the fourth tranche of financial assistance under YSR Kapu Nestham for the Kapus, numerically significant agrarian community to which Pawan belongs.
The tranche of Rs 15,000 every year credited into bank accounts of eligible Kapu women between 45 and 60 years of age comes days after Pawan joined hands with the TDP for next year’s assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
The TDP-JSP alliance is expected to attract a majority of Kapu votes.
The Kapus, including the related Balija, Telaga and Vontari communities, are estimated to constitute over 20 percent of the state’s population (according to the 1931 caste census).
Jagan released Rs 537 crore as direct benefits transfer, which would benefit 3,57,844 women of the Kapu community. Officials said that so far, the YSRCP government has spent Rs 2,069 crore on Kapu Nestham.
The CM listed the welfare measures his government took to uplift the community and said that he implemented the Kapu Nestham “though YSRCP has not mentioned it in the election manifesto”.
“We promised to spend Rs 2,000 crore every year for the welfare of Kapus. But we did more,” he said.
The YSRCP chief said that Kapus were given good representation in his cabinet and also preferred in various nominated posts.
Describing the coming elections as Kurukshetra (Mahabharata war), Jagan said, “justice will prevail” and asked people to support and vote for the YSRCP “if they believe they benefited from the welfare governance”.
Opposition leader Naidu was arrested when Jagan was away in the UK to meet his daughters. He returned a day after Naidu was sent to judicial remand.
Instead of questioning the corruption, Jagan said that Pawan went to meet Naidu in jail and both sealed an alliance. “Mulaaqat (appointment time to meet prisoners) was used for milakaat (alliance),” he said.
“I am not at all worried (by TDP-JSP alliance), I have your blessings and you should become my soldiers,” Jagan said at the meeting.
Also read: After arrest, TDP chief Naidu receives support from sister-in-law & Andhra BJP chief Purandeswari
TDP-JSP joint action plan
Pawan met Naidu Thursday, accompanied by the latter’s son Lokesh and famous Telugu actor, Naidu’s brother-in-law and TDP legislator Nandamuri Balakrishna.
Later, speaking to reporters, Pawan said that TDP-JSP have decided to “definitely contest together in the 2024 polls and will immediately start joint action”.
Jagan reminded that Naidu was caught red-handed earlier in the 2015 MLC note-for-vote scam. “But he is supported by certain vested interests who have a share in the spoils,” the CM said while pointing that not only the state CID but central agency Enforcement Directorate also made arrests in connection with the skills development scam.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: The ‘Rs 3,300-cr govt deal & skill development project’ behind Andhra ex-CM Chandrababu’s arrest