"Any Probe Into Amaravati May Turn Into Catch-22 Situation": Jagan Reddy

YSR Congress Party leader Jagan Mohan Reddy has indicated that there will be an investigation into the alleged massive corruption in the construction work of Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, if he is voted to power.

He said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was involved in the scam and claimed there are land scams and that Mr Naidu allegedly indulged in what he called  'insider trading'.

Mr Naidu, he alleged, has bought large tracts of land through illegals deals at throwaway prices in Amaravati before the project was formally announced. The YSR Congress leader said it may even become an international probe."

"Amaravati is filled with scams. He knew where capital was coming yet he misled people that it was coming from elsewhere. He himself bought land in Amaravati at throwaway prices, misleading people," Mr Reddy told NDTV. "He had his benamis (hidden deals) buy land. Six months later, he announced the capital in Amaravati," the YSR Congress leader said.

"When you start a probe, you don't know where it will go. It will be a catch-22 situation. I would not be in a position to judge. The probe could become international," he added.

Mr Naidu has said Amaravati will be built as a 21st-century modern capital at a cost of over Rs 50,000 crore.

Last year, the Andhra chief minister accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of reneging on promise to financially support building of the new capital, which he said was a "national pride".

"The Amaravati project is a national pride and I wish the Prime Minister had associated with it. Why cannot the centre share the pride by getting associated with it? Because of political reasons, they are not able to associate with it," Mr Naidu had said.

The foundation stone for the new capital city was laid by PM Modi in October 2015. "He later went back on his promise to provide funds for the project," Mr Naidu said.

About Rs 3,400 crore has been spent on the project so far, including Rs 1,500 crore from the centre and Rs 1,000 crore from neighbouring Telangana, which was created in 2014 after bifurcation.

The Andhra Pradesh government has raised Rs 11,300 crore for the project through different means including bonds against the requirement of Rs 48,116 crore.