Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is the kingpin of scams, YSRCP General Secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said today, adding that he was arrested after a thorough probe.
"The arrest of Chandrababu Naidu was not an overnight affair but was the result of a thorough investigation into the skill development scam. There is no need for political victimisation when it comes to Chandrababu Naidu. Law is taking a due course as the scam is an economic offence of the highest order."
"The CID registered an FIR in the skill development scam on December 9, 2021, thoroughly probed the case and based on the evidence, Chandrababu Naidu was arrested for questioning following due procedure," he said, adding that the government would never resort to politics of victimisation.
The Andhra Pradesh CID has arrested Mr Naidu in connection with an alleged skill development corporation scam.
According to CID, the case revolves around the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3,300 crores.
The agency also claimed that the alleged fraud caused a huge loss to the government of Andhra Pradesh in excess of Rs 300 crores.
As per the CID, the investigation revealed serious irregularities such as the then state government providing an advance of Rs 371 crores before any expenditure by private entities, which represented the entire 10 percent commitment by the government.
Most of the money advanced by the government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices, the CID said.
In its remand report, the CID has said that according to the investigation so far, the total amount spent by private entities on six skill development clusters is sourced exclusively from funds advanced by the government of Andhra Pradesh and its skill development centre, totalling Rs 371 crores.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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