As the tussle between ruling parties in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana sparked by 'cash-for-vote' scam continued unabated, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking that the Centre issue guidelines to the Governor on law and order in Hyderabad.
Naidu met Modi in Delhi a day after his government decided to urge the Centre to issue guidelines on section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act that confers special powers on the Governor, in charge of both the states, with regard to law and order in Hyderabad, the common capital.
The CM also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and BJP president Amit Shah.
While Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohd. Mahmood Ali advised Naidu to not “go around complaining in Delhi and crying to the media”, the latter’s lobbying in Delhi has elicited a moderate gesture of support from the BJP.
Breach of privacy
Speaking to the media late on Tuesday evening, Telecom Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad had said: “If a Chief Minister’s mobile phone was tapped, it constitutes a serious breach of privacy. He had already maintained that the voice on the tape that was telecast is not his.”
Prasad was referring to the airing of an audio tape by a local TV channel in the State, in which Naidu allegedly said he will fulfil all promises made by his representative to Independent MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote in favour of his party in the Telangana Legislative Council elections.
Naidu later claimed the tape was doctored.
The Andhra Pradesh CM, on his part, has threatened KCR that the latter’s “government would fall” if he dares to arrest him.
Ali fired the next volley on Wednesday, asserting that “no government is falling just because Chandrababu Naidu has said so. It is not up to the TRS to arrest him. The law enforcement agencies are doing their own investigations. There is no need for the government to be dragged into it”.
