Indicating a shift in the political alignments in 25 days since the arrest of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in an alleged corruption case, Telugu Desam Party leader and Mr. Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, who was despairing over the party’s isolation, with silence from the BJP and the Congress, on October 2 asserted that there was no evidence of the BJP supporting the YSR Congress government led by Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Speaking to The Hindu during his day-long hunger strike in Delhi, Mr. Lokesh said the TDP’s protest would end only with the defeat of the YSR Congress government. “It has been 25 days since Mr. Naidu’s arrest. The government has not been able to prove any of their allegations. They have not been able to show any documentary evidence to reveal the money trail. No wrong was done, so there is nothing to prove. Sheer frustration and fear of defeat are what drove Mr. Reddy to frame Mr. Naidu under false charges,” Mr. Lokesh claimed.
‘All-round support’
Days after Mr. Naidu’s arrest, Mr. Lokesh had said that he felt let down by both the BJP and the Congress for their silence. Revising his earlier stand, he said, support had poured in from all quarters, with calls to his family from Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav. The Congress and the BJP’s State units too had spoken out against Mr. Naidu’s imprisonment that he said did not follow the due process.
Indicating a definitive shift in the political situation, Mr. Lokesh said, “I have no evidence pointing towards the fact that they [BJP] are supporting Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy at this juncture. As a politician I should not make any vague statements.”
In the constantly evolving political equations, the TDP for now wants to maintain its neutrality, without hitching its wagon to either the NDA or INDIA bloc. “We are with the Andhra Pradesh bloc — not NDA, not INDIA! Our agenda is very clear, the polls will be fought on the issues concerning the Andhra people. We will go by the policies of the government at the Centre. If we believe that their policies are for the good of the nation, then we will support the policies,” Mr. Lokesh clarified.
It is ironic, Mr. Lokesh pointed out that, Mr. Naidu had been sent to the very prison that was constructed during his first tenure as Chief Minister. “It is very unfortunate,” the TDP leader added.
