TDP leadership is fountainhead of corruption: YSRCP

Hyderabad: The ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, YSRCP, took a dig at the Opposition TDP after raids conducted on the residences of former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's aides unearthed Rs. 2,000 crore illegal money. Sleuths from the income tax department searched the houses and offices of Mr Naidu's son Nara Lokesh's key aide Kilaru Rajesh and several infra companies linked to Telugu Desam leaders in Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Kadapa.

Following this, the YSRCP said that the I-T raids on the houses of Mr Naidu's former personal secretary was just the tip of the iceberg and many skeletons would tumble out to prove that the TDP leadership is a fountainhead of corruption.

Agriculture minister Kurasala Kannababu said the I-T raids have clearly proved how corrupt Mr Naidu was and wondered how may frauds worth how many crores would come to light if raids were conducted on the residences of Mr Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh. He also demanded the ED conduct an inquiry about Mr Naidu's assets.

Minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy, meanwhile, said Mr Naidu's role in the multi-crore scam was evident from the I-T raids and a CBI inquiry should be conducted into it. Minister Avanti Srinivas said even before the elections he had said that corruption has reached it's zenith in the execution of Polavaram and Pattiseema projects and that Mr Naidu thought he would get away with it. He also said that the former Chief Minister was adept in money laundering and this could be gauged by the fact that Rs. 2,000 crore was found in his personal secretary's possession.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Amjad Basha said that Mr Naidu's corrupt past will now be a talking point in the whole country and the Centre should initiate legal action against him. Commissions went to Lokesh for the execution of all the projects, he alleged.

Minister Vellampalli Srinivas said the Central government should look into the frauds committed by Mr Naidu during his regime. He said that the former CM had not allowed the CBI to enter the state because he was afraid of being exposed. Another minister, Cherukuvada Sriranganatha, said nobody can escape the weather of law-enforcing authorities after committing financial frauds.

minister Dharmana Krishna Das said people had voted out Mr Naidu as they wanted a corruption-free government. He said Mr Naidu, his son Lokesh, and Pawan Kalyan should be bold enough to react to the incriminating evidence found during I-T raids.

YSRCP state chief whip Gadikota Srikanth Reddy said Mr Naidu proved to be the brand-ambassador for corruption which started with the vote-for-note scam.