TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, at Tadivaripalli village of Markapuram Constituency, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday strongly condemned the arrest of TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu in the Skill Development Corporation scam case and accused the YSRC government in the state of not following due procedure.
Naidu was arrested by the CID police around 6 am from a marriage hall, outside which his caravan was parked, at Gnanapuram in Nandyal town, sparking protests by TDP leaders across the state.
Reacting to the arrest, Naidu in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, 'For the past 45 years, I have selflessly served Telugu people. I am prepared to sacrifice my life to safeguard the interests of Telugu people. No force on earth can stop me from serving Telugu people, my #AndhraPradesh and my motherland."
During his arrest, he appealed to people and party cadres to exercise restraint.
"Finally, truth and dharma will triumph. Whatever they do to me, I will march forward for the people," he said.
Condemning the police action, Andhra Pradesh BJP President Daggubati Purandeswari said the TDP leader was arrested without prior notice and his name was not mentioned in the FIR.
Further, she said due procedure was not followed as Naidu’s explanation was not sought.
Pawan Kalyan, President of Janasena party, BJP’s local ally, termed Naidu’s arrest as 'political vendetta.'
“The state government is resorting to the midnight-arrests without any proof. We have seen how this government behaved with Jana Sena Party in Visakhapatnam in October last year. Janasena condemns the arrest of Chandrababu Naidu,” he said in a video message.
Meanwhile, Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneswari said she prayed to Goddess Durga to protect her husband, who is fighting for the people of the state.
“I request all of you to stand by Naidu as he is fighting for all of you and that should be a successful one,” she told media.
However, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Advisor to the state government, defended the police action, saying notice need not be served before making arrest in economic offences.
Speaking to reporters, he said there is strong evidence linking Naidu to the “scam”.
Several TDP leaders including former minister and MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao were taken into preventive custody by the police in Visakhapatnam following the arrest of Chandrababu Naidu.
TDP cadres staged protests condemning the arrest of their leader and raised slogans against the ruling YSRC.