Date:18/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/18/stories/2007101861281200.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Congress ridicules Naidu’s argument

HYDERABAD: The Congress has said that the previous Telugu Desam Party government had ordered 14 Commissions of inquiries, of which 13 were headed by retired judges.

Government Chief Whip N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and MLCs K. Janardhan Reddy and Rudraraju Padmaraju at a press conference said that TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu was deliberately insisting on an inquiry by a sitting High Court judge knowing very well that it was not possible.

Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy reminded him that during his rule, a majority of commissions were headed by retired judges.

He said that nine CBI inquiries had been ordered by the then TDP government while the present Congress Government ordered 19 such probes.

Ridiculing Mr. Naidu’s argument that the retired judges would be handpicked by the Chief Minister, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy wondered whether all the Commissions headed by such judges had given favourable reports to the TDP Government.

He dared the TDP president to get all the stays obtained from High Court vacated and face inquiry.The Congress party has decided to counter Mr. Naidu’s corruption charges against Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in the winter session of the Assembly next month.

Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said it had become a habit for Mr. Naidu to indulge in mudslinging without proving any charges.

Taking pot-shots at Mr. Naidu’s reluctance to accept a probe by a retired judge into the assets acquired by himself and Dr. Reddy since their entry into politics, he said the former was looking for lame excuses to avoid any probe.