Headlines
KCR's son dares Naidu to undergo lie-detector test
Hyderabad, June 8
Telangana Chief Minister K.
Chandrasekhar Rao's son and a state minister K. Tarakarama Rao on Monday
dared Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to face a live
lie-detector test in the cash-for-vote scandal.
The panchayat
raj and information technology minister on Monday said he was ready for
lie-detector test live on television but asked Naidu if he was ready for
the same.
KTR, as the minister is popularly known, was reacting
to a report in a Telugu newspaper and a television channel that there
are certain tapes which prove that he lured the legislators of Telugu
Desam Party (TDP) and other opposition parties to the ruling Telangana
Rashtra Samithi (TRS) with money.
He said Naidu can't escape from
law by trying to project the case of his corrupt practices into a
friction between two states. On registration of first information
reports against Telangana chief minister in Andhra Pradesh, KTR said
such cheap tactics would not save Naidu.
The minister said
despite being caught red-handed while offering cash to a nominated
legislator in the legislative council elections, TDP leaders were
targeting Chandrasekhar Rao under a conspiracy to defame.
KTR
wondered why Naidu, who speaks so much about value-based politics, did
not open his mouth on the arrest of his party' deputy leader in
Telangana assembly Revanth Reddy in cash-for-vote episode.
On the
audio tape of Naidu's alleged telephonic conversation with nominated
member Elvis Stephenson, KTR said the law would take its own course.
"Everybody is equal before law whether he is prime minister, chief minister or a common man," he said.
The
minister said the Telangana government has nothing to do with the audio
tape. He challenged TDP leaders to prove that Naidu's phone was tapped.
He
said the audio tape could be conversation recorded on the phones of
Stephenson and Sebastian Harry, one of the accused arrested in
cash-for-vote case.
Revanth Reddy was arrested by the ACB on May
31 when he was offering R.50 lakh cash to Stephenson to make him vote
for TDP-BJP candidate in council elections. Sebastian and Uday Simha
were also arrested in the trap laid by ACB on a complaint by Stephenson.