CBI probe sought for AgriGold case

Vijayawada: The BJP has decided to hold a dharna demanding a CBI inquiry into the AgriGold illegality case at Vijayawada on Monday.

BJP official spokesperson U. Srinivasa Raju, addressing a press meet at Vijayawada on Sunday, alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and minister for IT and panchayat raj N. Lokesh had illegally grabbed the valuable AgriGold lands. He said besides father and son, some other Telugu Desam leaders had also grabbed valuable lands of AgriGold promising to save the owners from the cases.

He said that AP BJP president Kanna Lakshminarayana and BJP national secretary V. Ram Madhav would join the dharna demanding a CBI inquiry into the AgriGold case.

Mr Srinivasa Raju objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi being abused by AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation’s V. Ananda Surya and claimed that Surya had no right to criticise the PM and warned him to stop such acts. He also objected to the remarks of AP Planning Board vice-chairman Ch. Kutumba Rao against BJP MP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao. He defended the I-T department’s raids on the firms and houses of Telugu Desam MP C.M. Ramesh, and said it had been done according to norms and there was no political bias.  

Srinivasa Raju objected to the demand of CM Naidu about declaring Cyclone Titli as a national calamity. He said that the Union government had not even declared Kerala’s floods as a national calamity and added that the Centre was ready to help the victims of the cyclone from all aspects.

He suspected the idea of providing Rs 970 crore subsidies and incentives to HCL by the TD government and demanded that the government release a white paper about incentives and subsidies to IT companies. He challenged the TD to join a public debate on the AgriGold issue with the BJP.