Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday agreed to the opposition demand for a judicial probe by a Supreme Court judge into the inter-state fake stamp papers scam, even as Congress members forced a two-hour adjournment of the state assembly demanding his resignation.
Several Congress MLAs rushed towards the podium raising anti-government slogans as soon as Speaker K Pratibha Bharathi announced the closure of the four-day discussion on criminalisation of politics.
Replying to the acrimonious debate, Naidu sought to turn the tables on the opposition Congress. He accused the Congress governments in Karnataka and Maharashtra of suppressing investigations into the stamp papers scam as their ministers were linked to the the prime accused, Abdul Kareem Telgi.
He said he acted as soon as the involvement of ruling Telugu Desam Party legislator C Krishna Yadav in the scam became known.
Naidu said his government is ready to face a probe by any agency.
Seeking clarifications on Naidu's reply, the leader of the opposition demanded that the terms of reference of the inquiry must include all scams which took place during Naidu's eight-year rule, including irregularities in power purchase agreements and concessions and land allotments to a few private companies.
The chief minister said his government is ready to enact a legislation for confiscation of property of corrupt government officials, ministers and legislators, and sought the opposition's support in this regard.
Naidu quoted extensively from newspaper reports about the alleged links of stamps racket kingpin, Abdul Kareem Telgi alias Kareem Lala, with Karnataka minister Roshan Baig and police officials and politicians in Maharashtra.
He alleged that Telgi bore the expenditure for lodging and boarding 30 Congress legislators of Maharashtra near Bangalore last year when the then Vilasrao Deshmukh government was facing a no-trust motion.
The legislators were moved to Bangalore to prevent defections.
The chief minister said the scam has its ramifications in 16 states and Andhra Pradesh is the least affected as fake stamp papers worth only Rs 9 crore have been seized here compared to Rs 3,030 crore in Maharashtra and Rs 2,400 crore in Karnataka.
Naidu said a probe has already been ordered to find out if there was any wilful delay in investigations into the racket, which was busted in Hyderabad in 1999. He refuted opposition allegations that Telgi, who was arrested the same year, was deliberately booked under sections which facilitated his release on bail.
Reacting strongly to allegations of corruption against him, Naidu said he lived a simple life and wanted to become a role model for not only his party, but for all politicians.
"I am not one to run after power," he said and pointed out that he turned down offers of prime ministership twice. "I am doing an experiment in my state and I want to serve the entire country by making it a model," he said.
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