Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao accuses CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of betraying Polavaram oustes
Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao
Mangalagiri: Former minister and TDP politburo member Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao on Tuesday demanded the YSRCP governmentto explain why the evacuees and the media were not allowed to meet Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during his latest visit to the Polavaram dam site.
He asked why the Chief Minister kept silent on details like the extent of concrete and soil works completed in the past 26 months and how much compensation was paid to the evacuees. It was a shame that the Jagan government diverted Rs 4,400 crore Central funds towards payments to liquor contractors. These funds were in fact released towards the works already completed by the Chandrababu Naidu government before 2019.
Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leader demanded the ruling party to explain why their Chief Minister remained silent on the looting of the evacuees' funds. Over Rs 100 crore was diverted and deposited into the accounts of the benamis of the ruling party MLA and leaders, whereas thousands of Polavaram evacuees were forced by the police and the revenue authorities to go to hills, trees and bunds where they were not even getting drinking water.
Uma Maheswara Rao remarked that Jagan Mohan Reddy obviously made a pleasure visit to Polavaram only to get an idea how to install the 100 ft statue of his father YSR there. Also, there were reports that the Chief Minister was keen to construct a guest house at a cost of Rs 800 crore in the picturesque Papikondalu hills.
He reminded that party Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy tweeted on June 26, 2019 that Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to the Prime Minister and got a green signal for Rs 55,548 crore revised estimates. "Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to give Rs 10 lakh each to the evacuees during the elections. But now, he is keeping silent, he said. The TDP leader said that the inefficient YSRCP government caused Polavaram to go under the control of the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB). Over 107 projects of AP have now been brought under the river boards with AP losing its control for which Jagan owed an explanation.