Andhra: Protests continue on 2nd day against arrest of TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India] September 10 : Telugu Desam Party supporters continued their protest second day on Sunday in connection with the arrest of former Chief Minister and party supremo Chandrababu Naidu.
The protests were held at the party office in Visakhapatnam. They raised slogans against the YSRCP government and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department arrested Chandrababu in the early hours of Friday morning in an alleged Rs 371 crore scam in the AP Skill Development Corporation.
The alleged scam took place during 2014-2019 when Chandrababu was the Chief Minister.
The CID has alleged that Naidu is the primary accused in the case, allegedly involving Rs 371 crore of government funds that were transferred to shell companies during the TDP’s rule in the state.
After his arrest, Naidu said in a post on his microblogging site, X, that he was ready to sacrifice his life to ‘safeguard’ the interests of the people of the state.
Palla Srinuavasarao, ex-MLA and TDP Leader told ANI that ever since Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power he has been trying to prove that every politician in Andhra Pradesh is a "criminal like him".
"The way Naidu was arrested suggested that (CM) Reddy does not have any respect for the constitutional body like the judiciary".
However, the ruling government denied the allegations, maintaining that Naidu was arrested after a thorough probe. "Chandrababu Naidu is a kingpin of scams," alleged YSRCP General Secretary Sajjala Rama Krishna Reddy on Saturday.
Nara Bhuvaneshwari, Naidu's wife expressed hope a day earlier that he would win the fight which he has been fighting for the freedom of the people of the state.
Prominent film-star-turned politicians including Pawan Kalyan and Nandamuri Balakrishna came out in support of Chandrababu Naidu and lashed out at the CM Reddy.
He was produced before a court in Vijayawada on Sunday morning.
Naidu was brought to the court of the Third Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases by the CID amid tight security.
He was also questioned for nearly 10 hours at the Special Investigation Team (SIT) office.
The CID has submitted a remand application before the court while Naidu’s lawyers have sought that the plea be rejected.
It has submitted in its remand report that Naidu is the chief architect and conspirator of the alleged scam and that he indulged in a criminal conspiracy with the intention of fraudulent misappropriation or otherwise conversion for own use, disposal of property which was under the control of a public servant, besides engaging in cheating, forging documents, and destroying evidence.
As per the CID, the investigation has revealed serious irregularities such as before any expenditure by private entities, the then state government provided an advance of Rs 371 crores, representing the entire 10 per cent 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, CID officials 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 AP and AP Skill Development Center, totalling Rs 371 crores.