JSP chief Pawan lies down on road after being stopped at Andhra Border

NTR (Andhra Pradesh): High drama was witnessed after Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan's convoy was stopped by the police at Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border near NTR district late on Saturday night. The JSP chief, was on his way to Vijayawada when his convoy was stopped by the police at a check-post in Garikapadu.

Soon after this, he came out of his vehicle and laid down on the road as a mark of protest. A large number of JSP workers reached the spot and held a demonstration blocking the road. Reportedly, there was a minor scuffle between the police and JSP workers.

JSP leader Nadendla Manohar shared a video on social media platforms, in which Pawan Kalyan could be seen asking whether any visa or passport was required for him to enter Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in the evening, Pawan Kalyan tried to reach Andhra through airways but Krishna district police ordered airport authorities to not to permit his special flight to Gannavaram airport.

Pawan Kalyan earlier took a veiled swipe at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy and said incidents were "unfortunate in a democracy" while condemning the arrest of Telegu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu in connection with an alleged corruption case. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the actor-turned-politician took a veiled swipe at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jananmohan Reddy, saying,

"The manner in which the former chief minister was arrested today is sad. We condemn in the strictest terms the way the state authorities and the ruling party are making arrests on the orders of one leader (CM Jagan)."

Meanwhile, Naidu was brought to the government hospital in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada in the early hours of Sunday for medical checkup. According to sources, Naidu was brought by a team of officials from the Central Investigative Department (CID) to the hospital and is expected to be produced before the magistrate later in the day.

On Saturday, Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) in connection to an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam. According to officials, 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.

The agency officials also claimed that the alleged fraud has caused a huge loss to the state government in excess of Rs 300 crores. As per the CID, the investigation has revealed serious irregularities such as before any expenditure by private entities, the then state government provided an advance of Rs 371 crores, representing the entire 10 per cent commitment by the government.

Most of the money advanced by the government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices, CID officials said.

In its remand report, the CID has said that according to the investigation so far, the total amount spent by private entities on six skill development clusters is sourced exclusively from funds advanced by the Government of AP and AP Skill Development Center, totalling Rs 371 crores.