Hyderabad: The internal differences
within the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh came to the fore
on Sunday with a group of senior leaders and MPs demanding
resignation of State Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah
for the alleged irregularities in irrigation projects.
"Minister Lakshmaiah should be held responsible for
various irregularities. He should immediately resign. IAS
officer CV S K Sarma, who was secretary in Irrigation
Department, is now in Chief Minister's Office. He should
take 100 percent responsibility," Palvai Govardhan Reddy, a
senior Congress leader, told reporters.
Several MPs and other leaders from Telangana region
held a meeting at Govardhan Reddy's residence today.
Lakshmaiah, who also hails from Telangana, has been
Irrigation Minister since Congress assumed power in Andhra
Pradesh under the leadership of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy in
2004.
Nalgonda MP G Sukhender Reddy said he and his
colleagues would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party
president Sonia Gandhi to apprise them about the alleged
corruption in the irrigation projects.
He demanded a change in the design of Polavaram
irrigation project in coastal Andhra to "save the lives of
hundreds of people in the region and to prevent submergence in
Telangana".
Terming the allegations against him as untrue,
Lakshmaiah dismissed the demand for his resignation.
"This government has given due importance to Telangana
in irrigation projects. There is no truth that we did not care
for Telangana. It is a historical fact that we ensured
transparency in the implementation of irrigation projects by
conducting public debates over the whole issue. When the
allegations are untrue, there is no question of my
resignation," Lakshmaiah said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, June 13, 2010, 15:51