VIJAYAWADA: Hours after being questioned by the State Crime Investigation Department (APCID) in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road case, TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh called on Union home minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday night.
Presidents of the State BJP units in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Daggubati Purandeshwari and G Kishan Reddy respectively, accompanied the 40-year-old leader. While apprising Shah of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest, Lokesh alleged that the ruling YSRC was blatantly misusing official machinery.
He also informed Shah about the regime's revenge that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was indulging in against the TDP. He said even his mother Nara Bhuvaneswari and wife Brahmani were troubled.
The development attains significance in the wake of YSRC leaders accusing Purandeshwari of acting as a TDP agent to bail her brother-in-law out of corruption cases. The meeting also comes at a time when the Yellow Party has been trying to form a poll alliance with the BJP.
It has been learnt that Lokesh had been seeking the Union minister’s appointment ever since the arrest of his father in the AP skill corporation case. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the TDP general secretary said he apprised the home minister about the “appalling condition in which Naidu was lodged in prison, where his life is under threat.”Shah is reported to have asked about the number of cases booked against Naidu and Lokesh.
He reportedly also opined that it was not proper to trouble to the 73-year-old TDP leader under the pretext of graft cases. Shah also told Lokesh that the BJP leadership is keenly observing the developments in the State. After the meeting, Purandeswari posted on X that Lokesh elaborately explained to Shah the vindictiveness of the State government and the leaders at the helm of affairs. “Now, those who blame the Centre need to reply as to why Shah would give an appointment to Lokesh if the BJP was behind the arrest,” she added.
CID quizzes TDP general secretary for the second day
The APCID quizzed Lokesh for almost six hours for the second consecutive day in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road (IRR) case on Wednesday. The TDP leader claimed that the CID asked him only 4-5 questions relevant to the probe in the IRR project