CBI Probe Could Be Advantage Naidu

VV Balakrishna

slug: Three Options

strap: TD chief's political image will be enhanced if CBI's preliminary probe gives him a clean chit, feel TD leaders

Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu, who feels he was denied 'natural justice' in the matter of high court ordering a CBI probe into his assets, is exploring various legal options available to him.
According to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) sources, Naidu can choose to file a review petition in the High Court to reconsider its order of a CBI probe into his assets or file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order.
However, Naidu will consider the political impact before challenging the high court order. "If he challenged the order either in the high court or the Supreme Court, it may send wrong signals that Naidu is trying to thwart a CBI probe," a TDP leader said. Naidu will choose his course of action only after carefully considering all aspects of the issue, he added.
In fact, Naidu would gain a political advantage if the preliminary investigation of the CBI proved that he was clean. Therefore, it was also possible that Naidu might not challenge the High Court order but would wait till the CBI completed its preliminary inquiry in the next three months as directed by the court, another TD leader felt.
TDP leaders in general are confident that all the issues raised by Vijayamma were earlier unsuccessfully challenged in the court by her husband Rajasekhara Reddy and other Congress leaders in as many as 17 courts, including SC and Delhi High Court, and a similar outcome would be there this time too.
"The past judgments gave Naidu a clean chit and some cases were withdrawn by Congress leaders themselves as they could not substantiate their allegations," TDP leader Tummala Nageswara Rao has said.
"We never said no to a CBI probe, nor are we worried that something will happen to Naidu due to the CBI probe. We are prepared for any thing as the petition filed by Vijayamma is ridiculous and inconsistent," Nageswara Rao said.