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Opposing the arrest of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the alleged multi-crore skill development scam case, his wife Nara Bhuwaneshwari on Wednesday held a hunger protest with the people of Sitanagaramvillage in Andhra Pradesh's Rajahmundry.
Bhwaneshwari affirmed that the women of the state came forward to support Chandrababu Naidu. "The former CM has great confidence in women. Women in the state have come forward today to back the former CM against his unlawful arrest", she said while addressing the protest. "N Chandrababu Naidu hasn't made any mistakes in the Skill Development project. The former CM didn't misappropriate public funds or engage in any wrong doing. The CID failed to prove any allegations despite detaining him in jail for 19 days. What mistakes did he make?" Nara Bhuwaneshwari asked. Bhuwaneshwari further said, "Chandrababu Naidu has been in politics for over 45 years, dedicated to the betterment of the people of Andhra Pradesh. He consistently worked towards the state's development and aimed to attract companies to Andhra Pradesh to create job opportunities for the youth". She claimed that over a lakh people have benefited from the skill development program and are now in good positions. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday posted for hearing on October 3 a plea of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu seeking to quash the FIR registered against him in the skill development scam case. Naidu approached the Supreme Court against the High Court order which declined to quash the FIR last week. He sought the quashing of the FIR registered by AP-CID in the alleged Rs 371 crore skill development scam on the ground that the police did not obtain prior sanction from the Governor as mandated under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. In his plea, Naidu contended that the Andhra Pradesh High Court had rejected his petition by ignoring his pleading that under Section 17A of the PC Act, which came into force on July 26, 2018, no FIR against a public servant could be registered without prior sanction of the appropriate authority. The FIR against Naidu was registered on December 9, 2021, and he was added as accused number 37 in the case. on September 7, 2023. Section 17 A of the PC Act was not complied with as "no permission was obtained from the competent authority", the plea stated. Naidu, presently the Leader of the Opposition, the national president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), called the action against him "an orchestrated campaign of regime revenge and to derail the largest opposition in the state, the Telugu Desam Party". The extent of the political vendetta is further demonstrated by the belated application for grant of police custody on September 11, 2023, which names the political opponent i.e. the TDP and also the petitioner's family, which is being targeted to crush all opposition to the party in power in the State with elections coming near in 2024," it added. The arrest of the TDP Chief has led to a political hustle in the state with several TDP leaders alleging that the former was arrested unjustly on the basis of 'false corruption charges'. Earlier in the day, Chandrababu Naidus wife Bhuvaneshwari participated in special prayers at St. Paul's Lutheran church at Jampet, Rajahmundry for the release of the TDP Chief. People also gathered inside the Church with banners in their hands, condemning the arrest of Chandrababu Naidu. (ANI)
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