Under attack, Chandrababu declares assets
Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS) Under attack from foes and allies, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu Friday declared his and his family assets: Rs.40.28 crore.
Interestingly, Naidu and his family had declared assets worth Rs.68 crore only two years ago, and about Rs.21 crore in 2004.
Facing questions about his wealth in the wake of Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption, Naidu said that if anyone proves he and his family own more than what he has declared, he would give away those assets.
But Naidu underlined that the value of the assets declared by him was what it was at the time of investment.
He said he was not giving the present market value as the market price fluctuates.
He revealed that his family members owned assets worth Rs.39.88 crore. His own assets totalled Rs.40 lakh.
Naidu's son Lokesh has assets worth Rs.6.73 crore while assets in the name of his daughter-in-law Brahmini were valued at Rs.3.22 crore.
The TDP chief, who was chief minister from 1995 to 2004, said his family has 48 percent equity in Heritage company. He said the company has debts totalling Rs.98 crore.
Naidu said he has a house, whose value when it was built was Rs.23.2 lakh.
His wife Bhuvaneswari owned a building over 650 square yards of land at Punjagutta in Hyderabad and has five acre of cultivable land at Madinaguda in Sherilingampalli on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Naidu declared his assets as pressure was mounting on him.
Naidu, who took part in anti-corruption protests, faced questions about his own integrity both from his political rivals and allies like Communist Party of India-Marxist leader B.V. Raghavulu.
He also faced questions in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the assets of YSR Congress party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and in the Emaar deal.
The YSR Congress party is demanding a CBI probe against Naidu as it was his government which allotted land to the Dubai-based Emaar for its realty projects in Hyderabad.
Naidu's rivals also alleged that he had only two acres of land before he became chief minister but later amassed wealth running into thousands of crores of rupees. They also claimed that Naidu owns a hotel in Singapore.