Fresh probe into Andhra CM’s role in cash-for-vote scam

The ACB court, which admitted a plea filed by Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, YSR Congress party MLA from Mangalagiri in Guntur district, set a deadline of September 29 to the Telangana ACB to complete the reinvestigation and submit a report.

In a major setback to Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, a special court in Hyderabad, dealing with Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases, ordered a fresh probe into the role of Naidu in the cash-for-vote case. The scam came to light during Telangana Legislative Council election in June 2015.

Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu addresses a gathering during a function at in Sri City. (AFP File Photo)

The ACB court, which admitted a plea filed by Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, YSR Congress party MLA from Mangalagiri in Guntur district, set a deadline of September 29 to the Telangana ACB to complete the reinvestigation and submit a report.

The cash-for-vote scam created a sensation in the political circles last year, when Telangana’s nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson lodged a complaint with ACB alleging that he was offered Rs 5 crore by Telugu Desam Party MLA Revanth Reddy to vote in favour of party MLC nominee in Telangana Legislative Council polls held on June 1.

Reddy was caught red-handed by the ACB sleuths in a sting operation on May 31, 2015, when he was paying a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to Stephenson as the first instalment.