Srisailam/Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said he would not be scared by court notices as he had not indulged in any criminal activity but had only fought for the genuine cause of Uttara Telangana, which would have been affected by the Babli dam. He was speaking at Srisailam a day after a court in Dharmabad, Maharashtra, had issued a non-bailable warrant against him in connection with an agitation eight years ago against the construction of the Babli barrage across the Godavari river. Mr Naidu was the Opposition leader in undivided AP at that time.
IT minister Nara Lokesh said that Mr Naidu would appear before the Dharmabad court on September 21. “I heard about the non-bailable warrant issued against me and others in connection with an agitation in 2010 against the Maharashra government for constructing the barrage at Babli. I did not do any criminal activity. The Maharashtra police detained us and sent us to Hyderabad in a special aircraft,” Mr Naidu said.
He said that he had challenged the Maharashtra police that they could take whatever action they wanted even for a peaceful protest. “After this, we heard about the notices after a long gap of eight years. We’ll think of about our steps in this connection”, he said. Mr Naidu was served the non-bailable warrant for not appearing for court hearings since 2013. He is said to have received the summons when he was in Tirumala on Thursday.
The AP government is likely to appeal in the court to exempt Mr Naidu from future appearances since he holds a public office which keeps him busy and makes him travel a lot. Mr Naidu and 15 others were charged under the Indian Penal Code for offences such as assault, use of criminal force, deterring public servant from discharge of duty, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, act endangering life or personal safety of others, and criminal intimidation, among others. “Our party men will appear before the Dharmabad court on September 21,” said TD AP unit president Kala Venkat Rao.
