Chandrababu Naidu denies his role in Skill development scam, tells ACB court his arrest politically motivated

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh CID after questioning the 73-year-old former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu at the SIT office in Tadepally in Guntur district, presented him before the Special Judge for ACB cases in Vijayawada a few minutes before 6 am on Sunday.

He was arrested in Nandyal on Saturday and was brought to Vijayawada by road. The Andhra Pradesh CID has submitted a 28-page Remand Report seeking judicial custody of Nara Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the Rs 351 crore scam of the then AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC).

Chandrababu Naidu in his statement and own submission to the court said that the alleged offenses relate to policy decisions taken by the Cabinet and also approved by the Cabinet and as such it is a decision of the Government which cannot be questioned by initiating criminal proceedings.

“Government of Andhra Pradesh allocated Rs.360 Crores in favour of the Department of Skill Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the same was incorporated in the budget for the year 2015-16 and the same was voted by the Legislature and hence it is a part and parcel of the approved budget and the said allocation cannot be questioned by initiating criminal proceedings,” Chandrababu Naidu said.

He narrated the way the CID delayed presenting him before the ACB judge in Vijayawada. He pointed out that the CID which took him for medical tests returned him to the SIT office in Tadepally instead of taking him to the ACB court. He said his arrest, the incidents that followed that and the remand report all clearly showed that the case was politically motivated and he as a Chief Minister had no role whatsoever in the said scam,

However, arguments of renowned Supreme Court Lawyer Sidharth Luthra defending Chandrababu Nadu and Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy on behalf of the CID and the Government before the ACB special Judge were continuing since 6am on Sunday morning with a short break in between. Earlier Chandrababu Naidu’s legal counsels opted for a hearing in an open court rather than the chambers of the Judge.