VIJAYAWADA: TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, who observed a day-long fast, along with party MPs and leaders in New Delhi on Monday, resenting the arrest of party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu in the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation scam case, said the future course of action would be chalked out based on the verdict of Supreme Court on the special leave petition filed by the former Chief Minister.
Lokesh reiterated that he was in no way connected with the skill development corporation scam and irregularities in Amaravati Inner Ring Road alignment and the AP FiberNet project as he did not deal with the subjects when he served as a minister in the TDP government.
Meanwhile, TDP supremo Naidu observed fast in Rajamahendravaram Central Prison from 8 am to 5 pm resenting his arrest in a false case by the YSRC government. According to jail sources, Naidu did not get home-cooked breakfast and lunch from his family members. They sent him fruit salad and finger millet java for dinner. Though the jail authorities urged Naidu to take food in the afternoon, he simply refused, stating that he was on a day’s fast, sources added.
Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneswari also observed fast at the Satyameva Jayate programme organised by the TDP in Rajamahendravaram. Several TDP activists also went on fast, expressing their solidarity to Naidu. Speaking on the occasion, Bhuvaneswari said 105 people had died unable to digest the arrest of former CM in the skill development scam and she would visit the bereaved families soon.
Speaking to mediapersons after calling off the fast on Monday evening, Lokesh said Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela went to prison for the freedom ideology they believed in, while Naidu was sent to jail for launching the skill development project to provide employment to the jobless youth. Under the skill development project, training was imparted to 2.15 lakh youths and employment was provided to 80,000. “Naidu has been lodged in the jail for the past 24 days for no fault of his. False cases have been foisted against Naidu as he has been striving for the development and welfare of the people for the past four-and-a-half decades,” Lokesh said.
Mentioning that the people have been staging protests for the past 24 days condemning the ‘illegal’ arrest of Naidu, he alleged that the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government had registered cases against TDP activists for ringing bells and blowing whistles, expressing their solidarity to Naidu. “This is the reason for changing the name of Jagan as ‘mad Jagan’, who is suppressing peaceful protests,” Lokesh remarked.
He thanked the people and the TDP rank and file for observing a day-long fast along with his mother Bhuvaneswari on Gandhi Jayanti, resenting the ‘illegal’ arrest of Naidu.
Lokesh demanded that if the YSRC government got any evidence whatsoever on the involvement of Naidu in the skill development scam it should be brought before the court.
“Even after sending Naidu to jail in a case, where there is no evidence, three more cases have been kept ready to involve him. Some ruling party leaders have already made statements that Bhuvaneswari and Brahmani will also be sent to jail. This is nothing but political vendetta and there is no question of the TDP going back from its fight against Jagan,” Lokesh asserted.