Where is chief minister Chandrababu Naidu holidaying? Can a chief minister of a state disappear to a secret location for a week? These are the questions raised by opposition YSRC today.
Naidu has left for an unknown destination in the early hours on May 9. He is said to be returning on May 16. This time round, both government and Telugu Desam party are tight lipped on the trip. Some speculated he is holidaying in Thailand and other say Naidu spending time with family in Switzerland.
Questioning the secrecy surrounding the Naidu’s week-long foreign trip, YSR Congress wondered if Naidu was verifying his foreign bank accounts abroad. Party senior leader Botsa Satyanayarayana said the timing of disappearance was compelling him to think of all these things.
Naidu should reveal, upon his return, all the countries he visited and the persons who footed the bills for his stay abroad. A democratically elected chief minister was not supposed to keep a week-long holiday a secret affair, he felt.
“The whereabouts of Chandrababu Naidu is not known and no chief Minister would ever leave the station without announcing his tour program to the people. But we are not sure where the Chief Minister has headed and where is the need for such a secrecy unless, he went on a trip to set right his business affairs in wake of the Panama Papers or the trading of MLAs,’ Botsa alleged.
When people are suffering with drought and other issues, Chief Minister going on a holiday without announcing his destination and duration of his absence does not augur well for a parliamentary democracy, he said.
Botsa also wondered as to how chief minister would remain silent on a serious charge leveled by BJP national secretary Sidharthanath Singh that chief minister Naidu had never batted for special category status for AP in New Delhi.
He said the whole state wants to hear clarification from chief minister Naidu, because,the charge was hurled sitting right in the heart of Andhra Pradesh.
” The fact that neither chief minister nor his office or his aide are not able to refute the BJP leader’s charge, even 24 hours after it was made clearly shows there is truth,” Botsa said.
“Sidharthnath made Naidu’s attitude towards special status public at a time when many TDP ministers claiming that Naidu was meeting Prime Minister to clinch the deal on special status. This warrants clarification either from CM or his office or his party,” he said.
He said May 17 meeting with Prime Minister was a great opportunity to prove his sincerity on the subject of special category status.
“Chandrababu Naidu should extract a firm commitment from Prime Minister on special status if he is really fighting for it. Otherwise, people will think that Naidu’s meeting with PM was meant for things not concerned with the state and people,” he said.
