Jailed Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari on Monday joined party workers on a hunger strike at Rajamahendravaram in East Godavari district against her husband’s arrest. TDP is staging a hunger strike across the state against the arrest of the former CM.

Nara Bhuvaneshwari, who is the daughter of former Andhra Chief Minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, also kicked off the ‘Nijam Gelavali’ campaign to thank the people of Andhra Pradesh for their “overwhelming love and support” for Chandrababu Naidu and “choosing the side of truth and righteousness.”

Naidu was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on September 9 in connection with the multi-crore skill development scam case.

Nara Bhuvaneshwari also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti before starting her day-long hunger strike. A large number of women from across Andhra Pradesh joined the strike extending their support to TDP.

Bhuvaneswari claimed that 105 people died “out of sorrow” because they couldn’t bear to see former Andhra Chief Minister Naidu’s arrest.

She announced that she would visit the family members of the deceased and offer them support and courage. She also asked people to come forward and fight for their future.

Further emphasising her husband’s dedication and commitment towards Andhra Pradesh’s development, Bhuvaneswari said Chandrababu Naidu prioritized working for people over his family.

She said Chandrababu Naidu lives for the people and he always thinks about how to develop the state by attracting investments and creating employment.

Bhuvaneswari said the former CM envisioned the potential of Information Technology 25 years ago and worked on its development, adding that Cyberabad is a testament to his hard work. She further claimed that Chandrababu Naidu always dreamed of making Amaravati bigger than Cyberabad.

“He worked day and night to make it possible, by sleeping only 3-4 hours a day,” she said.

“Chandrababu Naidu took charge as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation, the state had no treasury and no infrastructure. Despite this, he tirelessly worked to develop the capital city. Despite this, he tirelessly worked to develop the capital city,” she added.

She felt that people should have given him at least 10 years to build the state. But due to people’s mistakes, the efforts he put in for 5 years were wasted, Bhuvaneswari said.

Referring to her father, Bhuvaneswari mentioned that NTR established the TDP for the people.

She said her father was a man of righteousness and discipline and raised their family with these same principles and noted that no cases have been filed against the family so far.

Bhuvaneswari called her husband’s arrest unjust and claimed it has ignited a fire in the hearts of the people.