KCR’s stand on ‘cash for vote’ upsets TDP, Reddy

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s sudden revival of interest in the ‘cash for vote’ scam has rattled and angered the Telugu Desam party as well as a senior Congress leader A Revanth Reddy.

The revival of the dormant case after a gap of almost two years has turned the budding friendship between Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Telugu Desam, the ruling parties of Telangana and AP respectively.

The case has come to the fore and probe was likely to gain momentum at a time when the next elections in both the States was due in less than a year and TDP leaders were of the view that KCR was reviving the matter for political motives.

According to the sources the TRS Government was considering naming Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu as accused No.1 in the case. The four accused of the case include A Revanth Reddy, who was earlier working president of the TDP and has now joined the State Congress.

Stung by the development the leaders of both the TDP and the Congress were alleging a nexus between KCR and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to target the political opponents.

A Revanth Reddy, who has emerged the bitterest critic of the Telangana Chief Minister and his family alleged that KCR had become the puppet in the hands of the Prime Minister. “He is now resorting to political vendetta”, Reddy told a press conference.

KCR reviewed the case to harass Chandrababu Naidu and earn the favor of the Prime Minister as Naidu had appealed to the people of Karnataka to defeat the BJP there, he said. “KCR and his family and people of his caste are looting the State”, he alleged.

A senior Minister in Andhra Pradesh government S Chandramohan Reddy questioned the motive behind KCR’s action of reviewing the case when the matter was sub-judice.

Another senior TDP leader K Penchala Naidu told a press conference in Vijayawada that KCR was trying to target Chandrababu Naidu to obstruct the development of Andhra Pradesh and destroy the state. “While Naidu was working very hard for the development of the state a conspiracy was hatched to tarnish him image by dragging his name in the cash for vote scam”, he said. He warned KCR not to play cheap and dirty politics.

Telangana TDP President Amarnath Babu alleged that there was an open pact between KCR and the Prime Minister Modi. “Otherwise why would he skip the Finance Ministers’ conclave held in Amaravati”, he asked. He also alleged that the Federal Front proposed by KCR was also aimed at helping Modi.

Meanwhile the opposition YSR Congress Party has urged KCR to ensure a free and faire probe into the cash for vote scam and bring the mastermind of the case to the book. Without taking the name of Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP senior leader Botcha Satyanayrana said that the Telangana government should bring the main persons to the book.

Telangana state CPI Secretary Chada Venkat Reddy criticized KCR for exploiting cases for political benefits. “KCR was reviving old cases arbitrarily. Cash for Vote scam is also one such case.  What happened to gangster Nayeem case after so much publicity. It is lying in some cold storage”, he said.