Chandrababu Naidu alleges 'match fixing' by Congress

YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been granted bail in disproportionate assets case

Hemmed in by the YSR Congress, the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti TRS and the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu this evening accused the Congress of being behind YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's bail.

Reddy, was granted bail in the disproportionate assets case (he was in jail for 16 months) by a special CBI court this afternoon. An incensed Naidu accused the Congress of "match fixing" and alleged that the country was in the midst of a 'national crisis" due to the corrupt UPA.

However Naidu would not comment on whether the TDP was inching closer to the NDA alliance as was being rumoured.

Earlier in the day, Naidu had walked out in protest from the National Integration Council (NIC) after he was not allowed to raise the issue of the plight of the Andhra people stemming out of the UPA's decision to create a separate Telangana.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Naidu demanded to know whether the NIC was not a forum to raise issues of state and integration. Naming P Chidambaram, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for their "arrogance" as well as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for not allowing him to raise the Andhra issue, Naidu accused them of assaulting Telugu pride. He said Andhra was a progressive state but was in turmoil for the last four years over the Telangana agitation.

As news of YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jaganmohan's bail filtered in by evening, Naidu said that the Congress and its agency the CBI was engaged in an eyewash and wanted to dilute all the ten chargesheeted cases against Jagan.

He added, "The Congress wants to gain from the positive vote in Telangana by aligning with the TRS and at the same time gain from the vote in Samayik Andhra by aligning with YSR Congress."

He alleged that Congress senior leader Digvijaya Singh had "shamelessly" announced the merger of TRS with the Congress and the bifurcation of the state of AP on the same day. "this is nothing but match fixing," he reiterated.

The former NDA ally, however did not disclose whether it had any plans of moving towards the NDA as was being rumoured. Narendra Modi, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, had recently lauded the TDP and its founder NT Rama Rao at a rally in Hyderabad.

"I want a national debate on this and corruption under this government is the biggest cancer in the country, said Naidu.

"We will continue to fight and prove it in the court of the people that the Congress and the YSR Cngress are both guilty, " said Naidu.