Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand a probe into the alleged “tapping” of his phone by the Telangana Government. The issue besides the alleged cash-for-vote scam has escalated tensions between the two States even as the spree of cases and counter-cases being lodged by both the sides against each other continued.
During an hour-long meeting, Naidu also demanded law and order powers for the Governor in the common capital Hyderabad to ensure effective implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a partner in the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre, sought a thorough probe, party sources said.
As Naidu was meeting the PM and other BJP ministers, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said the TDP was trying to distract the attention from the cash-for-vote scam by raising irrelevant issues. Also, Naidu - the TDP chief - met in the National Capital Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah.
The meetings came a day after Andhra Pradesh Cabinet passed resolutions on phone-tapping and implementation of Section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Meanwhile, the chief secretary and the director general of police of Andhra Pradesh also met Union home secretary and submitted reports over phone-tapping and the Reorganisation Act.
An audio tape of Naidu’s alleged telephonic conversation with Telangana’s nominated MlA Elvis Stephenson in cash-for-vote scam was aired on some television channels on Sunday. This triggered speculations that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) may include Naidu as an accused in the case, in which his party’s deputy leader in the Telangana assembly A. Revanth Reddy has already been caught.
Reddy and two others were arrested by the ACB on May 31 while offering Rs50 lakh to Stephenson to make him vote for the TDP-BJP candidate in the Telangana legislative council elections. TRS secretary general and a member of the Rajya Sabha said: “The visuals are clear. Naidu has not denied that the voice in the audio tape was not his.”
Hyderabad city police in the meantime booked a case against Naidu alleging that he was hurting the sentiments of Telangana people by his statements. Saifabad police station in Hyderabad booked the case on the complaint of a local lawyer Shriranga Rao. The complainant alleged that Naidu was making inappropriate statements on the cash-for-vote scam in the recent MlC polls. He demanded a suitable action against Naidu.
Significantly the Governor (of both the States) ESN Narasimhan was also in New Delhi and had a meeting with the President Pranab Mukherji. Meanwhile, the central character of this entire drama, Revanth Reddy, was granted 12 hours bail by the ACB court to enable him to attend the engagement ceremony of his daughter. He will be released from jail at 6 am on Thursday morning on the condition that he will not talk to the media or any political leader. ACB had recovered Rs50 lakh at the time of his arrest and is still looking for the fourth accused of the case Jerusalem Muttaiah.
But curiously Muttaiah lodged a complaint with the Vijayawada police against Telangana Information Technology minister K Tarka Rama Rao alleging that he had taken Rs1 crore from Stephenson to nominate him to the Telangana Assembly. Muttaiah also alleged that he and his family was facing threats from Telangana police. His brother was taken away by police and beaten up and his wife and children were kept in confinement, he alleged. Police booked the case against Telangana Minister under Sections 506, 507 and 387 of Indian Penal code.