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TDP, YSRCP trade barbs in Andhra liquor case
The ruling Telugu Desam Party claimed that the videos were retrieved by the SIT authorities from the phone of Venkatesh Naidu, who is a close aide of senior YSRCP leader and former MLA Bhaskar Reddy Chevireddy, A-38 in the case, who was also arrested along with Naidu on June 18
A political slugfest has erupted over the role of Cherukuru Venkatesh Naidu, one of the accused in the ₹3,500 crore liquor case that allegedly took place during the previous YSR Congress Party regime in Andhra Pradesh, following the seizure of cash of ₹11 crore by the special investigation team at a farmhouse in Hyderabad on July 30.
On August 2, the state government released videos showing huge piles of cash being packed and transported by Cherukuru Venkatesh Naidu, who is accused No. 34 in the liquor scam and has been in judicial custody. HT has seen the video but could not verify it.
The ruling Telugu Desam Party claimed that the videos were retrieved by the SIT authorities from the phone of Venkatesh Naidu, who is a close aide of senior YSRCP leader and former MLA Bhaskar Reddy Chevireddy, A-38 in the case, who was also arrested along with Naidu on June 18.
TDP official spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhiram said Venkatesh Naidu was a close aide of Chevireddy. “During 2024 general elections, Venkatesh Naidu who lives in Nandyal, came all the way to Ongole to file a nomination as a dummy candidate in support of Chevireddy,” he pointed out.
The SIT has claimed that the cash was seized based on the information given by another accused Purushottam Varun Kumar, a close aide of former advisor to the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government, Raj Kesireddy. While Kesireddy is the accused No. 1 (A-1) in the case, Kumar is A-40.
On the same day, Raj Kesireddy, who is presently in judicial custody, filed an affidavit in the ACB court denying any links to the ₹11 crore seized by the SIT authorities. The YSRCP also issued a statement that the SIT was deliberately trying to implicate him by fabricating the cash seizure, without conducting any inquest and recording the details of the cash seizure.
TDP spokesperson Pattabhiram pointed out that the charge sheet filed by the SIT in the ACB court on July 20, explained in detail how Venkatesh Naidu had stored cash in cardboard boxes at his residence in Hyderabad and handed it to other accused regularly to be paid to the followers of Chevireddy in Ongole. Around ₹200-250 crore over the period of nearly 6 months was passed on to Venkatesh Naidu, who in turn sent it to Chevireddy for distributing the money to voters of various constituencies.
Pattabhiram also alleged that the YSRCP leaders personally escorted Venkatesh Naidu to Colombo, after the SIT began investigating the liquor scam, only to shield him and Chevireddy.
In a bid to counter the allegations of the TDP, the YSRCP on Tuesday released pictures of Venkatesh Naidu with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, his son and state IT minister Nara Lokesh and the latter’s father-in-law and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna.
YSRCP leader and former MLA TJR Sudhakar Babu alleged that the Naidu government was weaving fictitious “crime stories” to falsely implicate YSRCP leaders using Venkatesh Naidu in a baseless smear campaign.
“The TDP is exploiting selective photographs to link Venkatesh Naidu to YSRCP leaders, claiming that he had used funds from the liquor case for extravagant trips and election expenditure. But why is the SIT not probing the role of Naidu and Lokesh, who also have photographs with Venkatesh Naidu and even felicitated him?” Babu asked.
He said the SIT’s tactics have failed in the court and so, they’ve resorted to new stories of Venkatesh Naidu’s role. He also highlighted a critical flaw in the SIT’s evidence: videos showing ₹2000 notes, which were recalled even before the elections, being used to implicate YSRCP.
On Wednesday, another TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy accused the YSRCP leaders of trying to distance themselves from Venkatesh Naidu in the liquor case. “Was he not an associate of Chevireddy? Why were both arrested together while fleeing the country?” he asked.
