The BJP has questioned the silence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in the ongoing war of allegations and counter-allegations on the paddy procurement process and demanded a high level probe either by a sitting High Court judge or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Speaking to the media at the State party office on Monday, vice-president and former MLA N.V.S.S. Prabhakar alleged that the Chief Minister has no say in the functioning of several departments as the ministers concerned seem to be working “independently” and claimed that the “collective responsibility of the State cabinet has gone for a toss”.
Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy who also doubles up as Irrigation Minister has not even bothered to attend the review meetings presided over by Mr. Revanth Reddy on the functioning of both departments. Despite “glaring administrative lapses” whether in the civil supplies or in others, there is no “corrective action”, he charged.
The Irrigation department continues to grapple with the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project fiasco with damage to the Medigadda barrage and leaks in other barrages even as monsoon is round the corner. Power cuts are rampant for both irrigation and domestic consumers contrary to claims of uninterrupted power supply, claimed the BJP leader.
With regard to industries, pending subsidies for the medium, small and micro enterprises is running into hundreds of crores of rupees even as the Central government-granted subsidies are also not being implemented properly, he said. Mr. Prabhakar saw no difference between the previous BRS regime and the current Congress government in terms of “corruption” and wondered whether the Chief Minister has any control over his Cabinet colleagues.
In a separate press conference, legislature party leader A. Maheshwar Reddy objected to “personal attacks” on him by Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy for questioning the paddy procurement process and for pointing out “corrupt” practices.
Stating that the Minister had replied to just one of the 19 issues raised in his recent meeting with the Chief Minister, he said he would write to the Centre about the “procurement scam” with all the “evidence”. Mr. Reddy wondered why the Minister had not bothered to personally check the situation in the districts and why no action has been taken against rice millers with pending dues.
The BJP MLA alleged that despite the Food Corporation of India (FCI) setting a May 15 deadline for supplying paddy, four extra months have been granted to four firms to lift 35 lakh tonnes. There was no action against those who had delayed lifting paddy within 90 days, he added.
