Naidu fails to get relief in court, what next for TDP?
VIJAYAWADA: With TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu not getting any respite from the AP High Court and the ACB Special Court and the possibility of party general secretary Nara Lokesh coming under the CID scanner anytime, Telugu Desam leaders are chalking out strategies to take forward the legal battle as well as the party activities with elections nearing.
While it is to be seen whether Naidu will get the much-needed relief in the Supreme Court, which adjourned the hearing of the Special Leave Petition of Naidu seeking to quash the FIR registered against him in the AP State Skill Development Corporation case to Tuesday, legal experts opined that the apex court may not give any relief as such a move will hamper the investigation in the skill development case.
The TDP legal team is of the view that the government may arrest Naidu in other cases if he gets relief in the Supreme Court as the High Court had rejected the anticipatory bail petitions filed by Naidu in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road, AP FiberNet and Angallu cases. Lokesh has been holding deliberations with senior lawyers and legal luminaries to proceed further.
“We are weighing all the options before us. We will seek bail in one court after the other till the TDP supremo is granted bail in the case,’’ a leader said.
Against such a backdrop, the party is planning to put Nara Bhuvaneswari, wife of Naidu, and their daughter-in-law Brahmani as the faces of the party to carry forward the activities, another senior leader said.
Speaking to TNIE, the TDP leaders said Bhuvaneswari will soon launch her visits in the State. “As of now, no decision has been taken on which form she will go to the people. But it may be a bus yatra to console the families, which lost their members following the arrest of Naidu, or to visit the protest camps being organised by party cadres in various parts of the State or she may visit the districts,’’ he explained.
A decision on whether Brahmani will accompany Bhuvaneswari or not will be decided by the party, another leader said, adding that in case of Lokesh’s arrest, Brahmani may continue Yuva Galam Padayatra from Razole constituency of the combined East Godavari district, where it was suspended by Lokesh after the arrest of Naidu, the TDP leader said.
Asked what would be the future course of action as elections are fast approaching and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had already sounded the poll bugle, a TDP Politburo member said they will have to chalk out the strategy at the earliest as it is expected to take some more days for the release of Naidu from jail.
Stating that Lokesh will be arriving in Amaravati on Tuesday to appear before the officials of the Crime Investigation Department for questioning in the alleged irregularities in the alignment of Amaravati Inner Ring Road, the TDP leader said they will discuss the programmes to be taken up in the days to come and announce an action plan after a meeting with Lokesh.
Admitting that taking the party programmes forward without Naidu at the helm of affairs is a very tough task as the elections are around the corner, the Politburo members said they need to move forward under collective leadership.
“Though we will get suggestions from Naidu through the leaders, who will meet him in jail during Mulakats, the availability of the party supremo at the TDP headquarters and his field visits are immensely needed at this juncture for not only to garner the support of the people but also to iron out differences if any among the party leaders in some constituencies before finalising the party tickets,’’ he opined.
Lokesh reaches Amaravati
TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, who went to Delhi on Friday to hold consultations with legal experts in the cases filed against his father and party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, reached Amaravati on Monday night to appear before the investigation agency in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road case on Tuesday.