Harish demands Ponguleti’s scalp; seeks probe into illegal mining ops

Hyderabad: BRS LP deputy leader T Harish Rao launched a sharp attack on the Congress government over the alleged illegal mining operations linked to Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and demanded his dismissal and stated that CB CID probe a cover-up of the case.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Harish Rao said that the Assembly proceedings and developments of the day had made one thing clear to the people of Telangana that illegal mining had indeed taken place. Even Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had effectively admitted that Raghava Constructions committed wrongdoing, and that this was the reason the government had gone into defensive mode and resorted to what he described as diversion politics.

The BRS leader alleged that when they tried to raise the illegal mining issue in the Assembly, the government did not allow a proper discussion and instead attempted to deflect the issue by announcing a CB-CID inquiry on its own terms.

He said BRS had demanded a House Committee on the issue, but instead of agreeing to an impartial inquiry, the ruling party tried to turn the issue into a political controversy involving Dalits. He also demanded that CM Revanth Reddy be referred to the Assembly Ethics Committee for using what he described as derogatory language, while alleging that Kaushik Reddy was unfairly targeted as part of a political conspiracy.

Harish Rao said the Congress government had no moral authority to lecture others on Dalit welfare. He asserted that the BRS and KCR have a genuine commitment to Dalits and tribals, not merely rhetorical concern.

He cited welfare allocations to argue that under the BRS government, Rs 7,365 crore was spent in one year on Dalit welfare, whereas the Congress government had allocated only Rs 1,395 crore in one year for Dalits.

Harish Rao said the Mining Department itself had reportedly imposed penalties of nearly Rs 28 lakh on two occasions on Raghava Constructions for illegal mining activity. He challenged the government to place on record whether the fines had actually been paid and why no criminal or administrative action had been taken against the company or the minister.

Harish Rao said the BRS had written to CM Revanth Reddy alleging that 20 major scams have taken place since the Congress came to power. He challenged the Chief Minister to order investigations into all of them if he truly believes in transparency. He demanded that Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy immediately resign or be removed from the Cabinet, and that the matter be investigated by either a House Committee, or a sitting High Court judge.