The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Telugu Desam stands firm, says State can't back out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Telugu Desam stands firm, says State can't back out

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, NOV. 15. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has reiterated its demand for a public debate on corruption and irregularities in calling tenders for irrigation projects here on November 18 and has appealed to the Government not to come up with excuses to back out.

Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leaders -- S. Chandramohan Reddy, C. Ramachandraiah and M. Narsimhulu -- on Monday saw nothing wrong in conducting the debate even as the High Court was hearing petitions on tendering process.

Not sub judice: leaders

When it could be discussed in the Assembly and contracts for projects awarded, during the pendency of the case, it could as well be debated outside. The matter could not be treated as sub judice, they contended.

As the challenge for debate had come from Ministers and accepted by the Opposition, the Government could not back out now, they said and insisted that the Major Irrigation Minister, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, should respond to their queries.

Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said a senior Congress MLA, Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, had questioned the tendering process in the Assembly and read out some excerpts of the House proceedings. Mr. Ramnarayan Reddy had raised doubts over pre-qualification bids system, apart from other aspects, given the size of the projects.

Scam alleged

The leaders repeated the charge that the tenders under category I were approved allowing the contractors to form a syndicate thereby causing a loss of Rs. 3,000 crores to the exchequer, by way of excess estimates.

"It is nothing short of a huge scam involving hundreds of crores of rupees," they said. They took objection to the way some of the Ministers and Congress leaders were attacking the TDP leader,

M.V. Mysoora Reddy, at personal level.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh