TIRUPATI/VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has warned of serious consequences if raids are conducted on IT companies on the pretext of probe into data theft.
Addressing public meetings in Madanapalle and Tirupati on Monday, Naidu said the party cadre data is a personal matter of TDP and any interference in it by others will not be tolerated. He demanded to know who were Telangana police to register cases pertaining to data belonging to Andhra Pradesh. “It is AP government’s data, so refer the case to us. But, who are you to do it? Will you do the same if the data belongs to the US?” he questioned.
Naidu expressed concern over the impact of the incident on the credibility of the State to protect IT companies in Hyderabad, while recalling his efforts to bring IT companies to Hyderabad showing it as a safe place for them.
“Just based on a complaint by some unknown person, how can they conduct raids? How is it justified? Who gave them the right to do so?” he questioned furiously. He contended that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the TRS government do not have the right to do so.
Pointing out that only after they filed a petition in the High Court, the “kidnapped” IT professionals were released and that too after threatening them, Naidu questioned if it was democracy or dictatorship in Telangana.
“Such transgressions did not happen during Congress regime. KCR imagines himself as a dictator. But, he should remember that such dictatorial ways will not work before me,” he said, while reminding that AP and Telangana are two different states.
Ridiculing the TRS government’s claim of data protection, Naidu said it was he who has been promoting IT since 1984. It was because of the IT reforms introduced by the TDP government, cell phones are being widely used now.
“They say they will protect my government’s data privacy. They do not have their own data, but I do and I know how to protect data privacy and maintain secrecy,” he said.
Calling upon people to stand by him as their elder brother, the TDP chief accused KCR of trying to dominate the state through backdoor methods after colluding with YSRC. “If you allow Jaganmohan Reddy to come to power, you have to forget all, including water,” he said.
Continuing his criticism of Prashant Kishor and his Bihar politics, Naidu claimed that with the ill advice of that person, YSRC is trying to delete the names of 8 lakh voters from the electoral rolls. He said they will even try to remove his vote from the voter list while accusing them of misusing Form 7 to prove the living persons dead in the electoral rolls.
“What they think of themselves and this place - Bihar? No, it is Andhra Pradesh. I will cut off your tails and not allow you to wag the tail as you wish,” he warned.
He said the AP government is not only lodging complaint with police but also with the election commission in this regard and asked people of the state to be wary of YSRC, who are nothing but thieves and bootleggers.
Accusing YSRC, TRS and BJP of colluding against TDP, he said such drama will not work and even if Prime Minister Modi, KCR and Jagan come together.
“If you want to confront TDP, do it openly and do not conspire. If KCR thinks that raids on IT companies in Hyderabad on the pretext of data breach will help the person he supports, he is very wrong as it will only be counterproductive, Naidu said. On the other hand, IT Minister and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh hailed the swift action of the High Court on the issue.
“Justice prevails! The High Court has reprimanded the Telangana police for unlawfully arresting the four employees when the complaint was filed against the company. It has questioned the police why they were taken in as witnesses without being served a prior notice which is part of the procedure,” he tweeted.
Lokesh said the court was shocked to see the police take signatures of the VRO on blank papers and gave them an earful for blatant disregard for the law of the land.
“By using police and embracing extrajudicial tactics, TDP data has been stolen and handed over to the YSRC. But can they steal the respect and admiration that people have for Chandrababu Naidu? Every voter is watching how all the anti-AP forces are ganging up against him,” Lokesh tweeted.
The TDP general secretary sought to know why Telangana police failed to transfer the case to their AP counterparts when they received the complaint of data theft in the state.
“I thought when KCR talked of return gift, he would campaign for Jaganmohan Reddy in the state, but never imagined that they will resort to data theft harming Hyderabad brand image,” he tweeted.