Naidu, YSR call each other scamsters

Whose is the bigger fraud, is the theme of the big fight being played out in Andhra Pradesh as election fever rises. Rajesh Mahapatra and Ashok Das report.

Whose is the bigger fraud, is the theme of the big fight being played out in Andhra Pradesh as election fever rises.

HT Image

On Wednesday, the two principal players, former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and State chief minister YS Rajashekhara Reddy, both came out with hard hitting punches at each other on the issue of corruption.

Bringing his fight against Reddy to the national capital, Naidu sought the chief minister’s prosecution for alleged misuse of power to benefit his family-run businesses. His demand comes a day after the Union government said it had decided to take over the management of Maytas Infrastructure Ltd and Maytas Properties, which were allegedly favoured by Reddy’s government and are linked to the diversion of funds from Satyam Computers.

“If Satyam was the biggest fraud in the history of corporate India, YSR Reddy has committed the biggest economic crime in the country’s political history,” Naidu said at a press conference in New Delhi. He also released a set of documents he described as “damning evidence” to prove his allegations that the chief minister’s son had been amassing wealth by misusing his father’s influence and office.

Swift came the counter assault from the Congress in Hyderabad. The state Congress sent a petition to the President asking for a probe into Heritage Industries, a company owned by Naidu`s family.

In a two-page memorandum the Congress legislature party sought a probe by the CBI, SEBI and the Serious Frauds Investigation Office into Heritage’s financial dealings. It also urged the President to impress upon the Union Government the need to order a probe into Naidu’s own disproportionate wealth and assets.