Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said there is no need for state Housing Minister P Ramasubba Reddy to resign in the wake of the adverse observations made by the Andhra Pradesh high court.

Fielding a flurry of questions at a press conference in Hyderabad, Naidu said there is no legal bar on Ramasubba Reddy continuing to be a minister though he is on trial in a double murder.

"I have seen the high court's observations made in the context of another case," Chandrababu Naidu said. "The high court has made only passing remarks. The murder case is an old one, dating back to 1991, when he [Ramasubba Reddy] was not [even] an MLA."

The chief minister pointed out that Ramasubba Reddy has since been elected to the assembly twice, in 1994 and 1999. "The people elected him twice, knowing that the case is pending against him. As it is, there is no reason [for his removal from the Cabinet]."

Naidu said he did not ask Ramasubba Reddy to resign because there is no question of him abusing his powers. "He is attending the court [despite] being a minister," he said. "There are several such precedents."

He said there is nothing in the Constitution of India or the Representation of the Peoples Act on the continuance of a minister facing criminal charges in a court. "This is only a question of political morality," he said.

Naidu said there is no parallel between Ramasubba Reddy's case and that of Telugu Desam Party legislator and former minister C Krishna Yadav, who was expelled after his arrest by the Maharashtra police in connection with the multi-crore-rupee, inter-state, fake stamp papers racket.

He said the party decided to expel Krishna Yadav because there is firm evidence against him. Ramasubba Reddy, on the other hand, claims that his rivals framed him in the double murder to settle political scores.

"We are discouraging the criminalisation of politics," Chandrababu Naidu said. "The Telugu Desam is very clear on this. We acted against Krishna Yadav. We don't want to shield anybody. We are not giving a clean chit to anyone. Yes, there are mistakes and we will take action against the guilty, however big they may be. We are taking this scam very seriously."

The chief minister pointed out that A K Telgi, prime accused in the stamps racket, hailed from neighbouring Karnataka. The press where the fake stamp papers were printed was located in Maharashtra. Of the 72 centres where the fake stamp papers were circulated, only two are in Andhra Pradesh.

Moreover, he said, after Krishna Yadav's arrest, the Andhra Pradesh government has ordered an inquiry by Additional Director General of Police Kamal Kumar into the lapses in investigation of the two cases unearthed in 1999 and 2000 in the state.

The government has also set up a special investigation team headed by an inspector general of police to investigate afresh all cases pertaining to the stamp papers racket in the state.

"The SIT is working on the entire scam. But the media is playing havoc by mentioning the names of political leaders without verifying the information. They are causing immense agony and humiliation to leaders who have nothing to do with the scam," Naidu said.

More reports from Andhra Pradesh