Naidu decries NIA probe into attack on Jaganmohan

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has objected the handing over of the Jaganmohan Reddy knife attack case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In a strongly worded five-page letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the chief minister described the act as politically-motivated and against federalism. He said that the NIA was meant to investigate cases that have an inter-state and international link.

The TDP chief said that the Union government is hell-bent on bringing down the sanctity and autonomy of premier intuitions.

The YSR Congress president, who was on his way to Hyderabad to attend a CBI special court on October 25, was attacked by an airport cafeteria employee with a cockfighting knife. The attack had left a gash on Jagan’s shoulder. Jagan refused treatment and left for Hyderabad in the scheduled flight.

He had refused to cooperate with the AP state police expressing no confidence either in the Telangana Police or any national investigation agency. The Union home minister then ordered a probe by the NIA which took over the case from the Special Investigation Team formed by the AP Police.

“BJP National Executive meet held in Lucknow in June 2011 called the formation of the NIA by the UPA government without a constitutional amendment as contrary to federal spirit. The resolution said that it has taken the lawmaking power of the states,” Naidu wrote.

He further said that the AP government is dismayed at the approach of the MHA now in utter regard of prevailing conventions and traversing arenas within the exclusive domain of the state,” he said.

Terming the case as an unfit case for the NIA, Naidu said “It is disturbing to look at the haste with which an FIR was registered in less than 24 hours by the NIA pursuant to the directions of the central government for a case of negligible injury when compared to the delay and indifference exhibited by the centre in dealing with the issue of assassination of two MLAs one sitting and another former at Visakhapatnam by Maoists in September 2018,” Naidu said urging the government to recall the order of the MHA dated December 31, 2018.