The expected has happened. Notwithstanding the ferocious statements by T-Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao that no God would save Chandrababu Naidu from being implicated in Cash-vote-scam, Naidu’s name did not figure accused in the chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana.
Though the chargesheet did mention Naidu’s name many times as the person responsible for the whole episode, the ACB could not conclusively say that the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh was accused.
The basis for the Chandrababu Naidu’s reference in the chargesheet was the telephonic conversations between complainant Elvis Stephenson and TDP MLA Revanth Reddy, and Harris Sebastian.
The telltale reference was made in the form of “Babu’ and ‘Boss’ and ACB argues that this Babu and Boss was none other than Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.
To buttress its argument the ACB also produced call data of conversations where Babu and Boss recurrently popped up.
The ACB today filed a 25-page chargesheet in the special ACB court. ACB claimed that the chargesheet had been filed after interrogating 39 witnesses including TDP MLA Revanth Reddy, Sebastian, Uday Sinha, TDP leader Vem Narender Reddy, his son Krishna Kirthan, Sandra Venkata Veeraiah etc.The ACB annexed 319 documents to the chargesheet.
ACB also strategically chose a day, when entire media was running helter-skelter to cover every bit of news related to former president Kalam, to file the charge sheet.
Chief minister KCR’s periodic threats that Naidu was directly involved in the cash-vote-scam and T-News channel’s leaks of purported telephonic conversation between nominated MLA Stephenson and AP CM Naidu, onlh created a hype that Naidu’s name was all set to appear in the charge-sheet.
Media carried reports that ACB was thinking of slapping a notice on Naidu to appear before ACB. The mind game unleashed by TRS was so frightening that CM Chandrababu Naidu had to issues an ultimatum to KCR that if he would attempt to arrest him that would be the end of T- government.
Following intense war of words, Prime Minister Modi is said to have asked a union minister to work out a rapprochement between the two warring chief ministers. Consequently KCR’s son and IT minister met union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu twice in New Delhi. Telangana.Similarly, Venkaiah personally met KCR in Hyderabad.
Finally, today, the chargesheet filed by ACB has not reflected the terrible animosity the two chief minister displayed for each other. What KCR said in public meeting about Naidu’s role in cash for vote scam, in hind sight and Naidus’ ultimatum looks like staging of a gory war scene to cover up the compromise being struck behind the screens.
All the accused will tried under IPC 120 (B) for conspiracy and prevention of corruption Act, because the peoples representatives come under the definition of public servants.
However, those who deny the compromise theory say AP CM’s names might figure in the supplementary chargesheet which ACB is expected to file after further investigation.
“The ACB had thrown enough light on the role of Naidu. Telephonic conversations squarely point to the role AP CM played in the attempt to buy nominated MLA’s vote for a TDP candidate in Telangana Legislative Council elections,” they said.
Chandrababu Naidu’s name as well as the origins of money paid to the complainant would also come out soon in the supplementary chargesheet, they added.
