If the Telangana government has its way, Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu would be named as Accused No. 1 (A-1) in the sensational cash for vote case of 2015.
According to reports, the Anti-Corruption Bureau authorities are likely to file a fresh charge-sheet in the cash-for-vote case in the special court for ACB cases in the wake of obtaining of the forensic report from the Chandigarh forensic laboratory, confirming the voice sample in the audio-tape as that of Naidu.
The ACB authorities held another round of discussions with Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday and apprised him of the situation.
They reportedly told him that the second charge sheet filed in the case has to be withdrawn, if Naidu’s name has to be included in the case as A-1 and a fresh charge sheet has to be filed.
The ACB authorities felt that in order to name the AP chief minister as A-1, they have to produce evidences to show that he is the ultimate beneficiary of the attempt to bribe the nominated MLA E Stevenson, whose vote TDP had sought to win the MLC elections.
In the video tape, it was clearly evident that TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy had approached Stevenson with a cash of Rs 50 lakh stating that it was an advance amount being paid to the nominated MLA to vote for the TDP candidate.
He was also seen telling Stevenson that Naidu would take care of all his political interests. And in the audio tape, Naidu was heard saying: “Our people briefed me. I will take care of whatever they told you.”
It is a different matter that whether the ACB would be able to prove that the money was sent to the nominated MLA by Naidu.
But, naming Naidu as A-1 would itself be a big loss of image for him and he would lose the moral right to point an accusing finger at his rival YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as A-1 in the quid-pro-quo case!
