CM Vs Chief Secretary, Meaningless Controversy: Undavalli

Undavalli Arun Kumar - Sakshi Post

Vijayawada: Former MP, Undavalli Arun Kumar said that the people of Andhra Pradesh would never forgive Chandrababu On Polavaram. Chandrababu had been misleading people on Polavaram. Arun Kumar pointed out that he had been cautioning the TDP government on various aspects of the project from the time the state had been bifurcated. He had been urging the chief minister and have a discussion on the resolution in parliament. Arun Kumar said he had been asking them to have a discussion on PM Modi's statement that AP had been wronged.

Undavalli Arun Kumar criticised PM Modi for his statement that AP and Telangana have turned into India and Pakistan. There was no hostility between people of the two Telugu states, he clarified.

Narendra Modi was a PM candidate when he said that AP had been wronged. MLAs and MPs should question as to how constitutional the division of the state had been, he said.

They should ask whether the amendments of the state assembly were factored. They question they ought to ask is, does the Lok Sabha have the right to ignore the will of the people of the state?

Polavaram would be a great gift if completed as envisaged, Arun Kumar said. He pointed out that he had always been cautioning the TDP government on Polavaram. However, the project site was turned into a tourist attraction ferrying people free of cost with lunch provided by the the government.

Arun Kumar said that TDP leaders had no logical answers to his questions. When he expressed his concern earlier, he was threatened, he remarked. Chandrababu Naidu had promised to complete the project by 2018 earlier and Arun Kumar then suggested to him to try and do accomplish his task by 2019. He recalled that Chandrababu insisted that the project will be completed in 2018.

The former MP observed that no geologist was consulted on such a large project. The earth around the project was caving in repeatedly. This has not been explained by the TDP chief or his engineers, he pointed out. Arun Kumar said that several villages will be submerged and the SC order is clear on resettlement and compensation. It has to be completed before the project progresses and yet the TDP government is silent on this.

The former MP said that such a big project was undertaken without a proper plan. The TDP government refuses to share its plan on how it is claiming to complete the project.

Arun Kumar said that Pattiseema is a simple project where water from Polavaram is diverted elsewhere. In its case, the cost would increase from Rs.300 cr to 1500 cr at best, as an example. This was not the case with a major project like Polavaram, Arun Kumar said.

The former MP commented that Polavaram Left Canal work not been done at all, while work on the Right Canal had been completed to some extent. He urged Chandrababu to share the truth at least now since elections are over. The Union government had made it clear through a communication from the Member-Secretary of the Polavaram Project Authority who stated clearly that no central funding will be provided for cost incurred before 1.04.2014 and that no cost will be borne by the Centre for change in scope or price after 1.04.2014. Why is this fact not being discussed and why was it a secret for so long, he queried.

Chandrababu always claims that he has the ability to turn adversity into opportunity and he should do that in the case of the Centre's stand on Polavaram, he observed. Chandrababu created a new controversy through a confrontation between the Chief Secretary and chief minister.

Arun Kumar recalled that the SP in his district was transferred following complaints from TDP. He recalled the strange circumstances under which the former chief secretary Anil Chandra Punetha was removed. The TDP government went to court over ECI's decision forcing the hand of the Election Commission. He pointed out that it was Chandrababu Naidu who made LV Subramanyam Special Chief Secretary and was also told that he would be chief secretary.

Arun Kumar wondered why the TDP chief described LV Subramanyam as a co-accused though he was given a clean chit by courts. Why is Chandrababu behaving in this absurd fashion, Arun Kumar wondered. He pointed out that the TDP chief knows the rule position very well.

Chandrababu has brought things to a pass wherein his tours were being boycotted by officials. Arun Kumar said he wondered why Chandrababu was getting so restless at this time and felt later that this only to ensure that payments are released to his handpicked persons. The new chief secretary as per rules enforced the first come first served principle making things uncomfortable for the chief minister, he added.

It was improper on the part of Chandrababu to indulge in personal criticism against the chief secretary LV Subramanyam who was health secretary even while the case had been pending, Arun Kumar said. Chandrababu made strange statements such as does not know for whom he voted but in the same breath claims that the TDP would get 130 seats. The chief minister's panic was odd, he remarked.

Also Read:Dharmana Lambasts Chandrababu For Criticism Of AP Chief Secretary

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