HYDERABAD: Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah will come face to face with the critics of Pothireddypadu expansion project at an `open debate' on Monday.

As a follow-up of his challenge to share a common platform to disprove the charges made by critics against the project, he has accepted to take part in the debate for which a television channel - TV 9 - has offered to organise and moderate.

As the Minister's critics too accepted the challenge, the debate will see a spectrum of political leaders expressing their views at the Jubilee Hall here on January 15 morning.

YSR clears proposal

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy cleared the Minister's proposal on Saturday and asked him to give a fitting reply and silence critics once and for all by emphasising that the drought-prone Rayalaseema region could be irrigated only by using floodwaters of the Krishna.

The Chief Minister wanted him to point out that the increase in the discharge capacity of Pothireddypadu was one component of larger strategy of floodwater management.

Sources said Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhar Rao was likely to participate in the debate while the Telugu Desam has deputed its senior MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy. B. V. Raghavulu (CPI-M), K. Narayana (CPI) and G. Chinna Reddy (Congress) have agreed to share the platform.

PJR seeks invite

Meanwhile, Congress MLA P. Janardhan Reddy demanded an invitation for the open debate to air his views.

Reacting to the reported claim of Major Irrigation Minister P. Lakshmaiah, that only the opposition parties should be invited and not Congress leaders, Mr. Janardhan Reddy said he had raised the issue and hence should be given an opportunity to speak.

The private television channel, which arranged for the debate should also invite leaders like him and his colleague M. Shashidhar Reddy, he added.

Earlier, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy said all those who were raising objections on the issue could debate.

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