“This is only the tip of the iceberg, and more such revelations will follow,” Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy has said while commenting on the recent Income Tax raids on the TDP leaders.
Addressing the media here on Saturday, Mr. Rajendranath Reddy alleged that P. Srinivas, the former personal secretary of TDP national president and Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu, was the “kingpin” in the scam.
“Mr. Srinivas had worked in the Chief Minister’s Office from 1997-2004 when Mr. Naidu was at the helm. Later, he joined the TDP. In 2014, he became Mr. Naidu’s personal secretary,” the Minister said.
Levelling serious allegations of financial impropriety against the TDP leaders, the Minister said, “These are the ones who give lectures about morality and integrity.” Mr. Rajendranath Reddy further alleged that K. Rajesh, the TDP organising secretary and a childhood friend of its general secretary N. Lokesh, was also directly involved in the scam.
Staff Reporter in Guntur writes: “There is no truth in the reports published by a section of the media that is close to Mr. Naidu that the real estate sector has crumbled in the Amaravati region,” YSRCP MLA Kolusu Parthasarathy said while addressing the media at Tadepalli in Guntur district.
‘Ploy to save TDP’
“Such stories are being put out with the sole aim of saving the TDP. It is a clever ploy to deflect attention from the recent raids conducted by the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on industrialists close to the TDP,” he said.
“I am sad to say that Mr. Naidu is conducting himself as a village sarpanch. The stories on the real estate sector are nothing but figment of their imagination,” said Mr. Parthasarathy.
“The agitation by Mr. Naidu for Amaravati has no real strength as people across the State believe that he is doing it for the sake of a few realtors,” he said.
‘Realty boom’
“In fact, there is a real estate boom in all the three regions of the State after the announcement of the three capitals proposal,” he claimed.
