Satyam is the biggest fraud in the corporate sector. The world used to see us as intelligent, hardworking people, but now they are seeing us with suspicion. Still, everyone is forecasting that in another 10-15 years, India will be amongst the top four nations of the world. 

I have come to New Delhi with a mission. This book that we have printed is a case study of a politician. The present Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and his family members have declared an income of Rs 41 lakh in 2003-04. After he became chief minister, he completed the Sandur power project and boosted the valuation. He made a Rs 10 share worth Rs 71. He offloaded nearly 17 per cent of the shares to a Mauritian company, 2i, a shell company, which means, money was illegally routed through this company to India. He now has Rs 600 crore-Rs 700 crore in this company. He floated 17 subsidiaries and diverted the money into these companies and they in turn made investments in real estate, media and the cement business.

Here’s one example: Jagati Publications (owned by the chief minister’s son). The principal company is Caramel Asia Holding Limited and the subsidiary is Sakshi, the newspaper company. He has valuated the newspaper at

Rs 350 crore. He offloaded 10 per cent of shares at the rate of Rs 350. He got Rs 350 crore. And then, he kept 73 per cent of the shares with himself. As for Jagati, the investment into the firm has come from shell companies located in Kolkata which do money laundering. He has identified 14 companies whose share value is Rs 1.50 and are loss-making. He routed about Rs 43 crore through these companies.

•Ritu Sarin: You presented this case before the media, you also met several politicians and ministers in New Delhi. Has anyone assured you of a probe by central agencies?

I met L K Advani, Prakash Karat and Pranab Mukherjee. I gave them all the details. All this is on record and the government needs to take action. I think more pressure is needed. The Bofors scam was only about Rs 64 crore but it was exposed because of sustained media pressure.

•Maneesh Chibber: What was Advani’s response when you met him?

He said the Satyam scandal was a big fraud and that the Andhra Chief Minister is the richest man in this country and in the Congress. He suggested that we put in a PIL.

•Maneesh Chibber: Will you take the legal route?

I am taking legal opinion. But first, I will have to fight on the political front and only then can I go to the legal front. 

•Unni Rajen Shanker: Did you come up with all this ‘evidence’ under pressure—because people had started talking about your Satyam links and you were forced to make a counter-attack?

I promoted Information Technology in the state but does that mean I am responsible for Satyam? The present CM has given Ramalinga Raju projects worth Rs 38,000 crore. The Satyam scam broke out during the Congress government. YSR has committed several frauds. If you go through the CM’s record, he has approved irrigation projects worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore. It will take 30 years to complete these projects. Even today, he gave out a Rs 10,000 crore contract. He is selling out the state. He is routing the money to the Congress high command in Delhi, they won’t take action.

During my tenure, I asked E. Shreedharan of the Delhi Metro to prepare a feasibility report for the Hyderabad Metro, which he did. But this CM violated all norms when he gave the project to Maytas. After the Satyam scam, I sought a CBI inquiry. There is a clear collusion between the government and Satyam.

This is case study for all of you to look at. Projects worth Rs 40,000 crore and over 6,000 acres of land were given to Maytas. Previously, Raju was only into IT but YSR tempted him into other things. And then Raju got greedy and acquired land under benami names. Even after the Satyam scandal broke out, the CM gave a road project in Cuddapah worth Rs 120 crore to Maytas. When I took him on in the Assembly, the CM said, “That is my will”. I told him this is not your money, it is the tax payers’ money. You are only a trustee. But he went ahead and without waiting for Cabinet approval, nominated them for the work. We went to the High Court and the court has given a stay order.

•Maneesh Chibber: YSR said on television that all your allegations are false, especially your charge that his son’s company has accumulated a lot of wealth.

An accused always tries to defend himself, it is up to us to catch him. These documents show that YSR had declared an income of Rs 41 lakh in 2003-04. How did he acquire all these companies, then? I asked him who was behind the Mauritian company. He refused to reveal the name and adjourned the House. The Opposition again asked him the same question. He did not give the name. Fourteen companies in West Bengal—all private limited companies and two public limited companies—are being investigated by SEBI for malpractices.

•Vinay Sitapati: Do you think your performance in the assembly and general elections will be affected because of your perceived link to Satyam?

Since the day the scam broke out, we have been fighting Satyam and the government has been shielding them. When the Chief Minister asked me in the Assembly, I told him very clearly that when I was associated with Satyam, I did not do Ramalinga Raju any favours. I promoted TCS, Wipro and Satyam. I brought all these companies to Hyderabad. But I never did anything out of the way.

•Vinay Sitapati: How do you see Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party affecting the TDP’s chances in the elections?

Prajaya Rajyam is not a big threat. There are two strong parties in Andhra Pradesh—Telugu Desam and Congress. Ultimately, Chiranjeevi will help the Telugu Desam by splitting Congress votes. We only stand to gain.

•Suman K. Jha: This YSR-Naidu battle has become very personal, with the CM calling you names in the Assembly. Does that worry you?

I have been in politics for the last 30 years. I was in the Opposition from 1989 to ’94 and this is the second time that I am in the Opposition. Then I was just an MLA, now I am the Opposition leader. Thanks to the CM and the Speaker, I rarely got to speak in the Assembly. Whenever I spoke, they kept abusing me. I respected him as an Opposition leader during my tenure as CM. But today, the Chief Minister does not want any opposition, whether it is in the media, the Opposition or in the industry. It is a very bad period in the history of Andhra Pradesh. I have seen many CMs but he is the worst I have come across. He is looting the state, spending money, bribing and abusing. He has constituted 22 inquiries against me. Not a single has been proved.

•Suman K. Jha: After the Lok Sabha polls, will there be an arrangement between the Praja Rajyam, TDP and the BJP?

Chiranjeevi never had much political perspective. As a politician, you have to fight against the ruling party to get votes. What will he get out of abusing me, someone who is in the Opposition? We are very clear about the BJP. Earlier we did extend our support (to the NDA), but now we do not want to have any truck with them.

•Rakesh Sinha: Your government was very aggressive against the Naxalites. If voted to power will you go after the Naxals again? 

When I was in power, I saw Naxalism as a law-and-order problem. Now I have reviewed my policies, now I want to handle the socio-economic aspect of the problem too.   

•Vandita Mishra: Why have you changed your stand on Telangana and now support its creation?

Sometimes, we have to take decisions based on the sentiments of people. Politics is not stagnant. In 2004, we were very clear that we wanted a united Andhra Pradesh. But the Telangana sentiment is very strong. Instead of fighting over this issue every day, it is better to associate with the problem and solve it. Only then can we concentrate on development.

•Mahima Kaul: I travelled for two hours outside Hyderabad’s hi-tech city. The farmers make about Rs 25 a day, working under the NREGS. What will you do to encourage farmers?

The National Employment Guarantee Scheme has a lot of flaws. Under the scheme, they pay Rs 100 for 100 days of work. That works out to Rs 10,000 per person. But they don’t get that. For instance, someone works for 20 days but for the remaining 80 days, the accounts are fudged and the money diverted. It is a big drama. We are trying to see how we can manage this better without pilferages. The programme is meant to eradicate poverty and help the poor but only 20 to 30 per cent reaches the common man, the middlemen take away the rest. The exercise that I am doing is how to reach the common man without the middleman.

•Unni Rajen Shanker: When you were CM, you were celebrated as the poster boy of Indian telecom—the laptop Chief Minister. What went wrong?

I was chief minister for nine years, the longest tenure in the state. If you are there for that long, people will always have some disappointments. Unfortunately, the last four years (of my tenure) saw a severe drought that created problems. I was anxious to do things immediately. I used to push my officers to work hard. During my tenure, they never revolted, but during elections, everybody revolted.

•Saubhik Chakrabarti: During Bofors, the smoking gun was someone in authority saying the PM of the time may have been involved in the scandal. What is the smoking gun here, the one incident you can give that will leave people with grave doubts about YSR’s integrity?

Here, a CM is setting up companies and favoring entrepreneurs with his ill-gotten money. He violated all the laws. His family, who declared an income of Rs 41 lakh in 2003-04, now earns Rs 1 lakh crore from his personal companies for which there is documentary evidence. Here is a man who has violated all the laws, but you say you can’t find any documentary evidence.   

•Saubhik Chakrabarti: When you speak of a spectacular rise in his income, is it calculated from what is there in these shell companies or has he declared his income again?

All these things he has submitted to Registrar of Companies (ROC) from his companies.

•Saubhik Chakrabarti: So this wealth data is from companies with which he or his sons are associated?

Yes. The son started these companies. The Chief Minister is getting things done for people. In turn, these people invest huge sums of money in these companies. All this is corrupt money.

•Vandita Mishra: How did your association with the BJP affect your party? Do you regret not having withdrawn support to the NDA after the Gujarat riots?

Our party did debate our association with the BJP. At that time, Balayogi (of the TDP) was the Lok Sabha Speaker and he died in an accident. After that, I didn’t accept the post for our party. But people felt that we were associated with the BJP and so we lost. That is history. There are always pressures and counter pressures at work and we couldn’t take a decision on withdrawing support to the BJP.

•Suman Jha: At a recent meet in Hyderabad, Baba Ramdev said Chandrababu Naidu should be the next CM.

I know Ramdevji is doing good work for the health and wealth of the nation. We share similar ideas and values on nation-building. I appreciate his work.

•Kapil Gautam: Why bring out a book that discredits the CM rather than a book that supports you?

I will talk about my work and what I plan to do in our election manifesto. The Chief Minister is misusing power for his personal gain. Is it not my responsibility to educate the public? Is it not the responsibility of all of you to fight? Social responsibility is the biggest problem in this country. If somebody is looting money, you are not bothered. That is the tax payers’ money, it belongs to the public and the government is only a trustee and the Chief Minister is misusing it. It is the responsibility of the political parties to highlight and fight this. Everyone is agitated about Satyam, but not about YSR. I don’t understand this:  it is the same fraud. Does that mean the Chief Minister is different from the individual? YSR should get the same treatment as Raju. If Raju can be in jail, how can YSR escape?

•Dhiraj Nayyar: But will it get you votes?

If you think corruption is not an issue in this country, then all politicians will loot this country and the country will go to the dogs. There are limits and they have crossed all limits. It is not a personal issue. As long as he is not creating problems for the society and is not looting money, we can excuse him. Otherwise, we have to fight it out.

Transcribed by Rohinee Singh