Pardon issue: Cong challenges TDP to debate

Hyderabad, Oct 12 (UNI) Deyning that the Supreme Court had indicted the Congress Government in connection with grant of pardon to Mr Gouru Venkat Reddy, party's Chief Whip N Kiran Kumar Reddy today challenged the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to a debate on the issue.

"It was the previous TDP Government which had withdrawn 1500 cases against their own partymen, including ministers, legislators and party functionaries under section 321 of the Cr Pc during its nine year rule in the state", he alleged at a press conference at the Congress Legislature Party office here.

"The Supreme Court had 'found fault' with the previous TDP Government for withdrawing a murder case against former Education Minister D Venkataramana and a lower court had indicted it for withdrawing a murder case against TDP legislator D Narendra," he alleged.

He contended that former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had never allowed any court to probe his misdeeds nor did he allow any agency like the CBI to probe his colleagues misdeeds, as evident in the pressure he brought on it to keep quiet on its move to arrest former minister Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, in connection with a bomb blast which claimed four lives.

Charging that the TDP's demand for the resignation of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy "smacked of hyprocrisy and double standards" of the TDP'', he claimed the Apex Court did not restrain the accused from appealing once again in the case.

Mr Naidu's only goal was to occupy the Chief Minister's chair through the 'backdoor' even after people of the state had lost confidence in TDP, as proved in every election in the state during the last two and half years, he alleged challenging the TDP to debate the withdrawal of cases against TDP men or whether Mr Naidu was right in bringing stay orders against probes into scams allegedly involving himself.

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