The Andhra Pradesh government criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for their “false propaganda” on the controversy surrounding the Agri Gold.
AP State Planning Board vice-chairman C. Kutumba Rao alleged that the BJP was trying to divert the attention of people from core issues by raking up the Agri Gold controversy. The BJP was trying to “mislead” the people as if the collection of deposits by the controversial firm started after 2014 while the firm had in fact raised money during the previous Congress regime in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.
BJP AP president Kanna Lakshminarayana was a Minister in the State Cabinet when the firm raised huge funds. The TDP government had initiated steps to recover the amounts and the steps like attachment of properties of the controversial firm within nine months of coming to power was indicative of the seriousness with which the government was acting on the firm.
Court supervision
There was no scope for irregularities in the auction of properties relating to Agri Gold as the entire auction process was being conducted online and under the supervision of the High Court. He alleged that the BJP government was indulging in “misappropriation” of funds meant for different schemes ever since the party assumed power at the Centre, but its leaders were trying to blame the TDP to cover up their failures.