TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh met President of India Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi along with MPs Galla Jayadev, Kesineni Srinivas, K. Ravindra Kumar and K. Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday.
They sought the President’s intervention with regard to the alleged persecution of former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on the pretext of his suspected involvement in a slew of corruption cases.
Mr. Lokesh said in a letter to Ms. Murmu that the arrest of his father was illegal and it was a part of the usage of the State machinery to silence the opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh.
He stated that his father was arrested on the charge of involvement in the ‘fabricated’ skill development scam meant to tarnish his unblemished reputation.
The arrest established a concerning precedent of vindictive politics and the misuse of power aimed at damaging the image of Mr. Chandrababu Naidu who served the nation with distinction.
Besides, the TDP leaders were being targeted through ‘illegal cases and arrests in an organised misuse of police forces by the political heads’.
‘’There has been a consistent erosion of democratic principles under the authoritarian leadership of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,’‘ Mr. Lokesh said, while appealing to the President to intervene in the matter so that attention could be brought on to the injustice being meted to Mr. Chandrababu Naidu.
The President’s support was needed for the larger cause of safeguarding the integrity of India’s political system, he added.
