'Corruption not in his blood': Nara Lokesh slams Andhra govt

AMARAVATI: Telugu Desam Party (TDP)'s General Secretary and son of former Andhra chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Nara Lokesh on Monday said that "corruption is not in his father's blood and the state government's intention is to malign his image." "Corruption is not in Chandrababu's blood. He is a well-known personality in the country. Jagan (Andhra Pradesh CM) put former CM Chandrababu in jail intentionally, on false charges. All other political leaders called me up and extended their support to me," Nara Lokesh said while speaking to the media at Rajamundry.

He was responding to the recent arrest of his father, N Chandrababu Naidu, and said, "Jagan, can you tell me the actual cases against you? Y. S. Avinash Reddy (Kadapa MP) had saved you from the police in the Vivekanand murder case.”

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president, N Chandrababu Naidu, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday in connection to an alleged corruption case. His son Nara Lokesh further alleged that his father has been targeted by this government ever since this government has come to power.

"They (state government) have filed false cases in the past, this is one such case. This government's only intention is to malign his image. If you look at the facts of the case, the skill development project is not a new project. This project has been going on in various other states. It's nothing new that the state of Andhra Pradesh has done. We are not going to keep quiet. Our fight against this government will continue," the TDP general secretary said.

Earlier in the day, a group of TDP workers staged a demonstration in Chittoor to protest against the arrest of their party chief Chandrababu Naidu. Some of the TDP workers allegedly pelted stones on a bus during the protest as the Road Transport Corporation (RTC) passenger vehicle came out of the depot.

Protestors also set tires ablaze on the road. Expressing solidarity with TDP leader Nara Chandrababu, who was arrested and sent to custody in the alleged skill development case, the TDP has called for a bandh across the state.

The AP police have enforced Section 144 across the state. Even as the police moved to detain TDP MLC Srikanth he staged a sit-in on the road and raised slogans against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state.

Protests were also held in Tirupati and West Godavari districts against the arrest and judicial custody of Chandrababu Naidu. The case pertains to the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3300 crore, as per the officials.