VIJAYAWADA: Days after reports emerged that the Income Tax (I-T) department issued a show-cause notice to former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, asking why tax proceedings should not be initiated against him for having “undisclosed income” of Rs 118 crore, and YSRC trained its guns at the Opposition leader, the TDP chief refused to be drawn into the controversy.
Addressing the party’s Zone-2 meeting near Kakinada on Saturday, Naidu hit back at the YSRC, saying the ruling party had been making baseless allegations against him as the elections were due next year. He felt that there was no need to respond to such baseless charges as nothing was proved, despite several inquiries being ordered against him in the past.“I submitted a report to the Centre recommending to withdraw higher denomination notes in order to curb corrupt parties, like YSRC,” he stated.
It may be recalled that news reports emerged that the I-T department served notices on Naidu with regards to Rs 118 crore undisclosed income, which was allegedly received by the TDP chief as kickbacks from infrastructure companies. The reports kicked up a storm with YSRC pouncing on the issue in a bid to make it a political debate.
The ruling party leaders demanded an immediate response from Naidu. They went on to allege that Naidu’s deafening silence indicated that he was guilty. Branding him as the most corrupt politician, YSRC leaders accused him of taking up the Amaravati project for his personal gains.
Interestingly, there has been no response from either the TDP, Jana Sena Party or BJP leaders on the issue. The back-to-back meetings by the three parties have given rise to speculations over a possible tripartite alliance before the 2024 elections.
The TDP leaders maintained that the YSRC was raking up an old issue. “The I-T department had served notices on Naidu after TDP’s poll debacle in 2019. Naidu gave his reply and the IT department, which inquired into the matter, found nothing,” they said. Several TDP leaders suspect foul play, questioning the timing of the show-cause notice. Citing the I-T raids in Telangana and Maharashtra, political observers said that the possible role of those sitting in Delhi couldn’t be ruled out when the elections were around the corner.