The BJP’s expansion plans in Andhra Pradesh may keep the party mandarins aloof to the State’s embattled Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
However, for appearances sake, the ruling party has sided with its ally in his ongoing battle with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) over the cash-for-votes scam.
Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday. He demanded a probe into alleged tapping of his phone by the Telangana government.
During an hour-long meeting, Naidu also demanded law and order powers for the Governor in the common capital of Hyderabad to ensure effective implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
The CM also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and BJP president Amit Shah.
While Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohd. Mahmood Ali advised Naidu to not “go around complaining in Delhi and crying to the media”, the latter’s lobbying in Delhi has elicited a moderate gesture of support from the BJP.
Breach of privacySpeaking to the media late on Tuesday evening, Telecom Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad had said: “If a Chief Minister’s mobile phone was tapped, it constitutes a serious breach of privacy. He had already maintained that the voice on the tape that was telecast is not his.”
Prasad was referring to the airing of an audio tape by a local TV channel in the State, in which Naidu allegedly said he will fulfil all promises made by his representative to Independent MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote in favour of his party in the Telangana Legislative Council elections.
Naidu later claimed the tape was doctored.
The Andhra Pradesh CM, on his part, has threatened KCR that the latter’s “government would fall” if he dares to arrest him.
Ali fired the next volley on Wednesday, asserting that “no government is falling just because Chandrababu Naidu has said so. It is not up to the TRS to arrest him. The law enforcement agencies are doing their own investigations. There is no need for the government to be dragged into it”.
Searches continueWhile the war of words continued, the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) continued with searches at TDP leaders’ residences. ACB sleuths have already searched the residences of TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and two others arrested in connection with the case.
The TDP has hit back, with Andhra Pradesh police filing as many as 50 FIRs against KCR, based on complaints by party workers over alleged illegal tapping of Naidu’s phone.
Adding to Naidu’s woes, the YSR Congress, the main opposition in AP, has demanded his resignation and accused him of “whipping up regional passions” between the two States born out of last year’s bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.