Lokesh meets Shah, expresses concern over ‘threat’ to Naidu

Amaravati: Hours after TDP leader Nara Lokesh was grilled by the Andhra Pradesh CID in connection with the Amaravati Inner Ring Road Scam case, the former minister met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital on Wednesday night.

In a message posted on social media platform X, Lokesh said he apprised Shah of the “blatant misuse” of state government machinery and “regime revenge” against his father and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu by the ruling YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh.

“Met with the Hon’ble Union Home Minister @ AmitShah Ji and apprised him of the blatant misuse of state machinery by YSRCP Govt in Andhra Pradesh, the regime revenge against Hon’ble @ncbn garu, and the appalling condition in which he has been lodged in prison where his life is under threat,” Lokesh posted on X last night.

Naidu is currently under judicial remand in the Rajamahendravaram central prison for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which resulted in a purported loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.

Lokesh was questioned for two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road Scam case at the CID’s Economic Offences Wing-II (EOW II) office.

The Amaravati Inner Ring Road case pertains to “manipulating” the master plan of Amaravati capital city, alignment of the inner ring road and the seed capital to allegedly offer undue enrichment to several companies during Naidu’s regime between 2014 and 2019.

According to TDP sources, after the questioning, Lokesh rushed to Delhi to meet Shah. Lokesh earlier claimed that he did not seek the appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Shah during his three-week stay in Delhi in the immediate aftermath of his father’s arrest.

He earlier met President Droupadi Murmu and presented a memorandum on his father’s arrest, claiming it to be “illegal”.

Lokesh met Shah accompanied by the BJP chiefs of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, D Purandeswari and Kishan Reddy respectively.

“Lokesh elaborately explained to Amit Shah ji about the vindictiveness of the state government and leaders at the helm of affairs. Now those who blame the Centre need to reply as to why Amit Shah ji would give an appointment to Lokesh if the BJP was behind the arrest!” Purandeswari said on X.

In the wake of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy asserting that he had nothing to do with Naidu’s arrest, Lokesh on Wednesday met Shah and expressed concern about the threat to his father’s life in the jail.

Recently, Reddy stated that he had no vengeance against Naidu and that nobody arrested the TDP chief out of vengeance. Further, Reddy claimed that Central probe agencies Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department proved Naidu’s alleged corruption and arrested the culprits, adding that the IT department had also served notices.

Besides the Skill Development Corporation Scam case, the Andhra Pradesh CID is also probing and prosecuting the Amaravati Inner Ring Road Scam and the AP FiberNet Scam cases. (PTI)