Naidu derides Congress campaign against Anna

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday demanded inclusion of Prime Minister in the ambit of Lokpal and wanted the Congress to stop its vicious campaign against all those fighting against corruption.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Naidu said it was strange that the Congress- led UPA government was trying to discredit Anna Hazare and his team for speaking on behalf of people who yearn for a corruption-free governance.

If the Centre has any sincerity, it should debate and accept suggestions given by the civil society in tune with the mood of the nation, he said and reminded that it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's silence that was proving to be a curse.

The UPA government's reluctance in taking proactive steps to check corruption has led to a situation where people have lost faith in the institutions of governance and were now extending full support to civil society groups, he said. He too would support the civil society as it was a “now or never” battle against corruption. “If we do not fight it now, we will simply hand over democracy to political, mining and other mafia groups”, he added.

Terming the alleged tapping of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's telephone as a “dangerous trend”, Mr. Naidu wanted the Prime Minister to make a statement clarifying the issue. If a person who is second in the Union Cabinet is meted out such treatment, one could imagine the plight of the common man.

Asked about transfer of huge of amounts of money from Prashanthi Nilayam, the TDP president said if the State government had intervened in time, it would not have happened.

Condemning the TRS action in vandalising the statue of NTR in Warangal when funeral procession of Telangana ideologue, K. Jayashankar was taken out, he said it was not proper to politicise the death of a person who fought for a cause. NTR too worked for the poor and weaker sections.

Jagan's secret meeting

Meanwhile, the TDP wanted YSR Congress president Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy to clear the air on his “secret meeting” with Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust member, R. J. Ratnakar.

Addressing a press conference, TDP leaders, P. Chandrasekhar and Sudhish Rambhotla said Mr. Jagan's sudden visit to Prashanthi Nilayam was raising suspicion among people as he avoided visiting the place when Sai Baba passed away.