"Unfortunate In Democracy": Actor-Politician Pawan Kalyan On Chandrababu Naidu's Arrest

Condemning the arrest of Telegu Desam Party (TDP) Chief Chandrababu Naidu in connection with an alleged corruption case, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan on Saturday said incidents were "unfortunate in a democracy".

Mr Kalyan, the Jana Sena chief, took a veiled swipe at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jananmohan Reddy and said, "The manner in which the former Chief Minister was arrested today is sad. We condemn in the strictest terms the way the state authorities and the ruling party are making arrests on the orders of one leader (Chief Minister Jagan Mohan)."

Invoking the "development" that the state saw under Mr Naidu, Pawan Kalyan said, "Jagan Mohan doesn't even have minimum knowledge. We have all been witness to the developmental strides that the state made under the chief ministership of Chandrababu Naidu. He embodies the pride of the Telugu people."

"Those trying to provoke and file cases (against Opposition leaders) over the last three to four months should be condemned unequivocally, regardless of which party one belongs to," he said.

"Since Jagan Mohan ascended, his negative thoughts and deeds have plunged the state into darkness. Everyone knows how much the state has lost since bifurcation. However, he is the only person who seems to be unaffected by this," Mr Kalyan claimed.

"The case against Chandrababu Naidu was filed three years ago. Why did they arrest him now? It has become a habit of the ruling party to attack local leaders and create trouble whenever the Opposition parties plan meetings," he added.

All party leaders will organise a meeting in the Guntur district's Mangalagiri tomorrow and formulate an action plan to deal with the political crisis in the state, he said.

"The Jagan government made a major mistake by sending the former Chief Minister behind bars. Our party stands with the TDP," he added.

The TDP chief was taken into custody by the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in connection with the alleged skill development scam case. A FIR in the case was lodged in 2021.

As police arrived early this morning to arrest Mr Naidu, they faced resistance from party cadres. A minor fight also broke out between officials and Mr Naidu's supporters during his arrest.

Mr Naidu said that the CID made the arrest without any proper information and refused to show him evidence to support the charges against him.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)