Andhra Jyothy daily today published a story disclosing that late chief minister YSR blackmailed the TDP leader Devender Goud through a CBI inquiry for his trespassing into the industries department when he was the revenue minister during the TDP regime.

According to the news story, Devender Goud, without informing the industries department, ordered the APIIC officials in 1999-2000 to acquire 5000 acres of land for a hard ware park on the outskirts of Hyderabad. He asked them to acquire the land north of Tukkuguda and west of Raviryala in the Ranga Reddy district.

The daily says that the then revenue minister Devender Goud resorted to this step to increase the value of the lands of his relatives situated in the area. It said Devender Goud and his close relatives had some 274 acres at one place and15 acres at one place in a radius of 4 km in the said area and he wanted to increase the value of these lands by planning to establish the hard ware park there.

The story goes further that after the Congress came into power in 2004, YSR ordered a CBI inquiry against Devender Goud and some APIIC officials for this decision. Through that investigation, the daily said, YSR blackmailed Devender Goud and forced him to come out of the TDP.

After Devender Goud quit TDP, the government gave a clean chit to him and on September 6, 2008, the government had withdrawn the cases on the then APIIC MD Mr LV Subramanyam, Zonal manager Dasaratharami Reddy and another senior official Mr Mohan Rao. The news story says that the government has thrown into the dust bin the recommendations of the CBI.

Goud meets Chandra Babu

Early this morning, after going through the news story in the daily, Devender Goud met the party president Chandrababu Naidu and gave an explanation, according to sources.