Dharmabad (Nanded district)/Hyderabad, July 20: In a dramatic development, the Maharashtra government dropped all cases against the Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, and 65 party MLAs before they reached Aurangabad jail and forced them to board a special flight to Hyderabad on Tuesday night.
The TD leaders, tired but triumphant, reached Shamshabad Airport at Hyderabad around 10 pm to a tumultuous welcome by hundreds of jubilant yellow flag waving party activists and leaders.
Mr Naidu’s wife, Mrs Bhuvaneshwari, and his son, Mr Lokesh, were at the airport along with family members of other MLAs to welcome them.
The TD estimates that the political stock of Mr Naidu had shot up dramatically after his trip to the Babli project site, the arrest and the confinement.
Maharashtra took the decision to fly back the TD leaders after hectic parleys with the Centre and the AP government.
Mr Naidu and 70-odd MLAs were arrested on July 16 on the AP-Maharashtra border village of Bidrelli.