Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh alleged that the Jaganmohan Reddy government is trying to administer steroids to his father who is lodged in the Rajahmundry jail.
Stating that the opposition leader’s life is at risk, Lokesh tweeted Friday that “CM Jagan will be responsible if any harm befalls Naidu.”
There is an undeniable and immediate threat to CBN's life. He is being deliberately harmed. His safety is unquestionably at risk.
CBN is facing a dire situation, dealing with mosquitoes, contaminated water, weight loss, infections, and allergies, all without access to timely…
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) October 13, 2023
A team of doctors examined the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Thursday inside the prison and reportedly found that Naidu is suffering from dehydration, an allergy causing skin rashes, and also weight loss.
“The GoAP is trying to administer steroids to him. What is it that the Government doctors and administration are trying to hide?” Lokesh, who is presently in New Delhi, questioned.
Lokesh’s allegations come at a time when his father’s petitions for bail in and quashing of the skill development case are before the courts.
Andhra Pradesh government advisor and YSR Congress Party general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy rejected the allegations made by Lokesh and TDP leaders.
“Is the jail your mother-in-law’s house where you’ll be given special comforts like Air Conditioning. The prison conditions are being wrongly portrayed like we are sending mosquitoes inside the cell and as if Naidu is on his deathbed,” Reddy said at a press conference. “Naidu has not lost five kgs, but actually gained one kg weight.”
Reddy pointed out that other former chief ministers like Lalu Prasad and O.P. Chautala endured the same conditions in jail.
Later in the day, TDP leaders attempted to march towards Jagan’s camp office at Tadepalli near Amaravati leading to an altercation with the police and a tense situation.
The TDP leaders reportedly said they want to handover a representation to the chief minister seeking Naidu’s transfer and treatment at the central government administered AIIMS at Mangalagiri.
TDP national spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhiram told ThePrint that his party is filing a petition in the court to shift Naidu either to a super specialty private hospital or a government hospital where all medical facilities are available.
“Naidu’s private doctors should be immediately allowed to assess his actual condition. A health bulletin just showing BP, sugar levels is insufficient. It should list every detail including the medicines administered to him,” Kommareddy said.
On Wednesday, Lokesh, a minister in the previous TDP government, had met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and told him that “Naidu has been lodged in prison in appalling conditions” and that “his life is under threat”.
The CID had arrested Naidu from Nandyala town on 9 September in the skill development case. The former CM is also accused in the AP Fibergrid, Amaravati Inner Ring Road realignment and a riots case at Angallu village in Annamayya district, which are being reviewed by courts at various levels.
Naidu has been in judicial custody in the central prison since 10 September, a day after his arrest in the Rs 371 crore Andhra Pradesh skill development project scam that allegedly took place when he was the chief minister from 2014 to 2019.
Lokesh, his mother Bhuvaneswari and his wife Brahmani, who have met Naidu in jail, have been expressing grave concerns about his health and safety inside the prison.
Bhuvaneswari and Brahmani also tweeted Friday, expressing concern for the well-being of the TDP chief.
I am deeply concerned for my husband's well-being, as the Govt of Andhra Pradesh has failed to provide him with the timely medical care he urgently needs while he remains in prison. He has already lost 5 kg weight, and any further weight loss could have severe consequences for…
— Nara Bhuvaneswari (@ManagingTrustee) October 13, 2023
Heartbreaking. @ncbn garu is currently detained in inadequate and unsanitary prison conditions that pose a considerable risk to his health. Urgent medical attention is required, as medical professionals have raised concerns about his well-being. Timely medical care is not being…
— Brahmani Nara (@brahmaninara) October 13, 2023
On Thursday, alleging the cases on his father as false to allow Jagan Mohan Reddy extract political vengeance, Lokesh told reporters in New Delhi that he asked Shah to take “the side of truth”.
“When Shah enquired about Naidu’s health and cases, I told him the false cases are nothing but political vendetta. I told him that YSRCP MPs, MLAs are claiming that the BJP is behind all this. That BJP’s silence gave scope for such allegations. The HM replied saying that Jaganmohan Reddy is trying to frame the BJP,” he said.
Lokesh himself is an accused in the alleged Inner Ring Road scam case. He was questioned Tuesday and Wednesday by the CID in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, the Vijayawada ACB court which sent Naidu to judicial custody has ordered the authorities to present the former chief minister before it Monday in the Fibergrid case. On Friday, the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted Naidu anticipatory bail in the Angallu case.
His bail petition in skills scam will be heard on Tuesday by the HC. The Supreme Court is hearing the quash petition in skills scam case. Naidu has also approached the apex court challenging his anticipatory bail rejection by the high court last week in the Fibergrid case.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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