Andhra CM Puts The Brakes On CBI Entering State, Possibly To Protect TDP MP Currently Under Investigation

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday withdrew the ‘General Consent’ letter, which grants jurisdiction to members of Delhi Special Police Establishment in the state, for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to enter the state without permission.

This means that the CBI can only enter Andhra Pradesh, whether for raids or other investigations, after permission by state authorities. The CBI’s functions will have to be carried out by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) henceforth.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) cited the bitter internal feud in CBI between director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana, which is currently playing out in the Supreme Court, as the reason for the order and claimed that the party-run government in Andhra has “lost confidence” in the investigation agency. However, political observers are divided on whether this may be the motivation for this order. The ongoing investigation into the murky role played by a TDP member of parliament is attributed as the reason.

Since 2017, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Rakesh Asthana had been investigating meat exporter Moin Qureshi and his links with a former CBI director.
Asthana has alleged “serious interference” by director Alok Verma in the Moin Qureshi case. In his official compliant to the Cabinet Secretary, Asthana claimed that Verma had called him up and asked him not to question Satish Babu Sana, a key witness in the Moin Qureshi case.

It was alleged that Sana got C M Ramesh, a TDP Rajya Sabha member, to facilitate a bribe payment of Rs 2 crore to Alok Verma that the latter acceded to, to settle the case against him.

Ramesh is a close associate of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. Ramesh is under investigation by Income Tax officials, who have found several suspicious and dubious transactions in the companies owned by him. According to the I-T department's report, substantial proof showing dubious transactions in the name of sub-contracts have been found in his companies. I-T officials estimate Rs 800-crore worth dubious transactions by Rithwik Projects Private Limited.