The Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu, had his judicial remand extended by the Vijayawada special court for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases on Thursday. His wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari has decided to mobilize public support for him beginning the following week, according to party leaders with knowledge of the situation.
On Thursday, when Naidu’s extended two-week judicial remand came to an end, the administrators of Rajahmundry Central Jail, where he had been detained since his arrest on September 11 in the early morning hours in connection with the multi-million dollar skill development case, brought him in the morning on virtual mode before the ACB court.
Naidu’s judicial remand was prolonged till November 1 by ACB court judge Justice Hima Bindu after she inquired about his conditions in detention and took into account a report from the Crime Investigation Department asking for an extension of his judicial custody.
This was the fourth extension of Naidu’s detention. It originally concluded on September 22 but was given an additional two days. The remand was again extended on September 24 to October 5, then to October 19. It has now been postponed until November 1.
In the meanwhile, the state high court on Thursday postponed Naidu’s motion for bail in the skill development case and declared that the vacation bench would hear it the next week.
Siddharth Luthra, a senior Supreme Court attorney who was representing Naidu, presented a document to the high court detailing Naidu’s health and requested an interim bail of two weeks. The TDP chief’s health status report was requested by the top court from the CID attorney.
Bhubaneshwari will launch a public relations effort.
As Naidu’s release from prison looms uncertainly, his family members have made the decision to step up party activities, not only to rally public support but also to lift the spirits of the party’s leaders and cadre, who are reportedly discouraged by the most recent events.
Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh and wife Bhuvaneshwari quickly convened with the party’s top officials, including Andhra unit president K Atchennaidu, to determine the next step after seeing Naidu in prison.
A party official with knowledge of the situation claimed that Naidu “told his family members that his continued presence in jail should not demoralize the party cadre and advised them to take up the party programmes in a big way to attack the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.”
As part of the plan, Bhuvaneshwari will begin a statewide tour the following week with a program called “Nijam Gelavali” (Truth shall triumph). She will meet with the families of party members who are said to have passed away from grief after Naidu’s arrest and inform the public about how the Jagan administration has been harassing her husband and the party leaders.
“Bhuvaneshwari has weekly plans to visit two or three locations in a district and interact with various socioeconomic groups. She will undoubtedly get popularity among the populace since she is the daughter of former chief minister and famed actor N T Rama Rao, the party leader said.
Bhuvaneshwari had already urged people to participate in protest activities including candle rallies, “Nyanaki Sankellu” (handcuffs to justice), “Kanthitho Kranthi” (raising awareness via lights), and “Motha Mogiddam” (Let us create sound).
Likewise, Lokesh will carry on his father’s “Bhavishyathuku Guarantee” (Guarantee for the Future) initiative from Nandyal, where Naidu was compelled to stop it after being detained by the CID on September 9.
The party leader asserts that the TDP has to increase its public outreach initiatives, which have been put on hold as a result of Naidu’s detention. “The party leaders’ exclusive attention has been on Naidu’s release, which has negatively impacted the party’s operations. To keep the party’s pace moving, Naidu thus decided to have his family members carry on the tradition.
