Gandra, Srinivas Yadav slam congress govt over sand smuggling in Telangana
HYDERABAD: Former MLA Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy and BRS V president Gellu Srinivas Yadav on Friday accused the Congress government of turning a blind eye to illegal sand mining across Telangana.
Leaders say government ignoring protests over sand smuggling
Speaking at a press meet at Telangana Bhavan, they said sand was being smuggled in the name of Indiramma housing scheme. "We staged a protest in Tekumatla mandal of Bhupalpally constituency against the sand loot. Yet, there has been no response from the administration. Is there a government in the state?" asked Gandra.
They alleged that while BRS was fighting on behalf of people, police were obstructing its agitations. "Congress leaders are staging counter-protests instead of curbing sand smuggling. The entire Godavari basin is witnessing loot with the support of Congress leaders. If this continues, our region will surely turn into a desert," said Gandra.
The leaders also criticised the state government for failing to release funds to gram panchayats. "Villages are in darkness as funds are not being allocated. Revanth Reddy is not conducting local body elections out of fear of defeat. Even in Delhi yesterday, he avoided answering questions on local polls," Gandra said.
They demanded allocation of ₹5 lakh for major gram panchayats and ₹3 lakh for smaller ones to improve amenities, especially during upcoming festivals like Saddula Bathukamma and Dasara. "Minister Seethakka must respond immediately. The CM had spoken about village facilities when he was in opposition, but now he has no concern," they added.
On Singareni, they questioned why the government had not announced workers’ profit share. "Did such a situation arise during KCR’s tenure?" asked Gandra.
Turning to defections, the leaders ridiculed Revanth Reddy’s statements in Delhi. "His words on defections are laughable. Everyone is mocking him. If party scarves are not symbolic of joining, then what is? MLAs who switched sides are not just joining Congress but also contesting and campaigning on Congress tickets. Is the CM blind to this?" said Srinivas Yadav.
They accused Revanth of speaking irresponsibly. "He talks shamelessly, ignoring constitutional provisions. The CM himself said Kadiyam Srihari joined Congress for development. Is that not true? When we changed parties in the past, we followed constitutional procedures. Even now, the CM must act within the rules," they said.
Srinivas Yadav added that Revanth’s comments in Delhi were unconstitutional. "Rahul Gandhi walks with the Constitution in hand, while Revanth violates it. He not only draped scarves on defectors but also gave them tickets. Isn’t Danam Nagender contesting on a Congress ticket a case of defection? Revanth cannot even differentiate between a party scarf and a temple scarf," he said.
He further accused the government of harassing people by challenging the Group-I recruitment issue in the High Court division bench. "Revanth is following Trump’s style of politics. He must apologise for his comments against KCR," Srinivas added.
The press meet was also attended by Gosula Srinivas Yadav, Padala Satish and Nursing.
