Chandrababu Naidu jailed on false corruption charges: Nara Bhuvaneswari

Reacting to the arrest of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu in the multi-crore skill development scam case, his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari said that her husband has now been jailed for 17 days on false corruption charges.

As part of the ongoing protest, Nara Bhuvaneswari participated in a relay hunger strike organized by women in the Jaggampeta area of the Kakinada district on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhuvaneswari said, "It has been 17 days since the unethical arrest of TDP Chief and former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu in false cases filed by the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRC) government."

Since the first day of his arrest, people across the country have come out to condemn the arrest and show their solidarity with him, she said.

She further said that Chandrababu Naidu's political career, spanning 45 years, has been closely associated with the people, and his goal is to lead them forward.

The wife of the former Chief Minister also pointed out that her husband had been unjustly jailed for 17 days on false corruption charges.

The wife of the TDP Chief further questioned whether Chandrababu Naidu's mistake was working hard for Andhra Pradesh and its people. She expressed strong hope that the former CM would come out of prison like a lion and continue to serve the people.

Talking about Naidu's vision for transforming Hyderabad into a Hi-tech City from an area of stones and gravel, Bhuvaneswari mentioned that many had initially scoffed at the idea of a high-tech city in a place lacking facilities.

Now thousands of people work there, and the government generates revenue through IT products, she said and described Chandrababu as a leader who creates wealth.

Bhuvaneswari also questioned whether it was wrong to work diligently for the state and its people. She highlighted that those who have benefited from skill development programs now hold high positions and earn significant salaries.

She also mentioned incidents where IT professionals were stopped from entering Andhra Pradesh when they were coming from Hyderabad to Rajamahendravaram to express their solidarity with Chandrababu Naidu's family.

Bhuvaneswari became the first to sign the one lakh signature collection pamphlets in support of N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Naidu is currently in judicial custody at Rajamahendravaram Central Prison after his remand was extended till October 5 on Sunday by the Anti-Corruption Bureau court (ACB) in Vijayawada in the multi-crore skill development scam case.

The case involves alleged misappropriation in the establishment of clusters of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3,300 crore.

Agency officials claimed that the alleged fraud had caused a huge loss to the Andhra Pradesh State government in excess of Rs 300 crore.

Bhuvaneshwari also claimed that her husband was a "people's man" and his only "mistake" was he "served the people". Saying that Naidu is getting support from different sections of society, she exuded confidence that he will come out from jail soon and "fight for the people again".

The Supreme Court on Monday asked counsel of Naidu to mention on September 26 his plea seeking to quash the FIR registered against him in the skill development scam case.

As senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Naidu, tried to mention for urgent hearing the plea, which was not listed in the mentioning list, the bench asked him to mention it tomorrow.

Luthra told the bench that the case is related to the State of Andhra Pradesh where the opposition is being curbed.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, "Come tomorrow in the mentioning list."

Naidu approached the Supreme Court against the High Court order which declined to quash the FIR on Friday.