Setting an example to all those families which are politically connected, Nara Lokesh Babu, son Chief minister Chandrababau Naidu and TDP leader, today declared assets of his family and the family owned company , Heritage foods.
Whether one believes it or not, the son of three-term chief minister is living a modest life and can’t be considered rich by any stretch of imagination, in today’s standards. He doesn’t fall in the category of rich as he doesn’t possess enviable assets compared to YS Jaganmohan Reddy , son of another chief minister (late) YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
According to the 2015 election affidavit, YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy is one of richest politicians in India with declared assets of Rs 365 crore. It rose with jet speed from the declared asset of Rs 77 crore in 2009. When compared to Jagan’s properties, the assets of Nara family ( Chandrababu Naidu, wife Bhubaneswari, son Lokesh Naidu and daughter-in- law Barhmini) pale into insignificance before the YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Because all put together, Nara family owns assets worth just Rs 45. crore.
Let us a have a look at Nara family’ s assets. Lokesh Naidu property’s net asset value is Rs 7.67 crore, which includes a farm of 10 acres and a farm house constructed at a cost of Rs 2.20 crore, which he said was pledged to Bank of Baroda.Stating that every year in September he would release the details of family assets, Lokesh said his father Chandrabababu Naidu, the poorest of Nara family, owned just an asset of worth Rs 42.4 lakh while his mother Bhuvaneswari Rs 33 crore. The net value of assets owned by his wife Brahmini was put at Rs 4.77 crore. According to Lokesh, the Heritage company, whose principal activity is doing business in milk and milk products, possess the assets worth Rs 2073 crore in 2014-15.Elaborating on the activities of Heritage, Lokesh said the company was providing direct employment to 4284 people and indirect employment to 15000 people.
He said he had no intention to launch a newspaper or TV channel. ” I am deriving great pleasure in this milk business which I can’t derive from setting up a cement plant or news channel. Our family doesn’t harbor any idea to launch news channel,” he said taking an indirect dig at YS Jagan. According Junior Naidu, transparency was the corner stone of Heritage and the company chose to take reduced profit by spending more on the farmers. He said the Heritage purchases milk from 3 lakh farmer. ” We have set up welfare trust to look after the welfare of the farmers. All member-farmers get accident insurance along with expenses for health,” he said.
He had plans to develop the Heritage brand into a globally recognized one.
He said many attempts had been made by Congress leaders during YSR regime to get an inquiry into his assents, but could not succeed. He urged all political families to do the same to introduce an element of transparency and honesty into the politics.