Hyderabad: Row erupts over SEC-Sujana Chowdary meet

Hyderabad: A CCTV footage of an alleged secret meeting between BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sujana Chowdary, former minister Kamineni Srivinas and former State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on June 13 went viral on various TV channels and social media leading to a political storm in Andhra Pradesh.

The tapes show Ramesh lounging with two senior political leaders at a private hotel in Hyderabad. The tapes show former Union Minister from TDP and Rajya Sabha MP YS Chowdary, who recently joined the BJP, and former state Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas entering the same room where Kumar was staying on the eighth floor of Park Hyatt Hotel on June 13.

The issue became controversial as Ramesh has been at loggerheads with the YSRCP government. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy attributed political affiliations to the SEC and alleged that Ramesh had postponed Panchayat Raj polls in March citing coronavirus. The Chief Minister said that it was done on the directions of leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu.

YSRCP leaders alleged that the cat was out of bag and the meeting has exposed the nexus between the BJP and TDP who were creating problems for the government at every stage. They found fault with Ramesh Kumar, who is holding constitutional position, meeting BJP MP Sujana Chowdary in a hotel particularly when the case was in court of law.

They alleged that Ramesh Kumar maintains strong relationship with MLA Gadde Ramamohan, former ministers Kamineni Srinivas, Devineni Uma Maheswar Rao, Prathipati Pulla Rao and Sujana Chowdary. He is also known for maintaining a database of police, revenue and judicial officers, they said.

The YSRCP leaders and minister who spoke to the media on Tuesday said that he also has links with Harishchandra Prasad of Andhra Sugars and Biological Evans. They also alleged that he had acquired about one to three acres of farm land in Moinabad, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Clarifying the issue, Kamineni Srivinas told the media that the YSRCP was trying to make mountain out of mole hill. He said he had impleaded in the case with the permission of the state and Central leadership of the BJP.

He denied that the three had met with some secret purpose. Srinivas said he was not aware that Ramesh was also coming there. Sujana has his office in Park Hyatt and he regularly meets him there. He further said that the three did not have any common meeting. Ramesh came to the hotel 30 minutes after he went there and met Sujana after he left the hotel.

Srinivas said that BJP leader Sunil Deodhar and state president Kanna Lakshminarayana asked him about the controversy and he explained to them what had happened and they endorsed his stand.

Sujana Chowdary also stated that the two did not come together nor did they meet him at the same time. Ramesh, he said, was his family friend, while Srinivas was a party leader and has been meeting him frequently. He also questioned as to what was wrong if they met him in his office. The government should focus on administration rather than trying to make mountain out of mole hills.

"There was no wrong in that. It was a casual meeting," said Chowdary. The SEC is not a criminal and there is no rule that we should not meet him. Being close friends, we can meet whenever we want and wherever we want," he added.