Published 22:19 IST, October 25th 2019
Chandrababu Naidu in trouble for spending Rs. 10 cr on protest
Fresh trouble seems to be brewing for TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu as Andhra HC expressed shock over the huge expenditure incurred by him earlier this year
Fresh trouble seems to be brewing for TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu as Andhra Pradesh High Court expressed shock over the huge expenditure incurred by him earlier this year. On February 11, ahead of the General Elections, the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister organised a one-day 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' in New Delhi. Naidu called for the protest to highlight the alleged injustice meted out by the NDA government towards Andhra Pradesh. The entire protest cost over Rs. 10 crore which was paid by the exchequer. A Government Order (GO) was passed by the State Government to meet the expenses.
Two trains were hired by the Naidu government from Srikakulam and Anantapur for those who attended the protest in New Delhi. The state government paid Rs. 1.12 crore for these trains. Apart from hiring trains, money was also spent on accommodation and food for the general public and VIPs. Around 1,100 rooms were also booked in various hotels in New Delhi by the government for the same.
A PIL was filed by a man named Vetukuri Suryanarayanaraju who hails from the East Godavari district. The petitioner claimed that this protest was taken up only to gain political advantage and was a gross misuse of public funds. After hearing the arguments, the AP High Court enquired about the official who passed the GO to release funds for the protest.
"Under which rule was this GO passed and what is the purpose of spending such huge amount for a protest," questioned the High Court. The court asked for complete details of the GO and postponed the case to November 21.
Naidu shamelessly spent public money: YSRCP Govt
Expressing his disgust over the expenditure, state transport minister Perni Venkataramaiah questioned as to how far it was justified to utilise public funds for political agitation. "Naidu had shamelessly spent public money for his political benefits. He praised the Modi government for four years and quit in the last year. Now again he is claiming that it was a mistake to criticise Modi. He has been always committing mistakes and later tendering an apology," he said.
Updated 23:03 IST, October 25th 2019