The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Vidyadhar Rao dares Geeta Reddy to debate

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Vidyadhar Rao dares Geeta Reddy to debate

HYDERABAD: Praja Rajyam leader Kotagiri Vidyadhar Rao on Sunday dared Industries Minister J. Geeta Reddy for a debate on Special Economic Zones with specific reference to the Pharma SEZ at Polepally in Mahbubnagar district.

“We had only proposed for Polepally to be a growth centre for eco-friendly industries. It could not happen in Sattupalli of Khammam district because the logistics would not permit it. Does Dr. Geeta Reddy know the difference between a Growth Centre and an SEZ?” Mr. Rao who was Industries Minister in the TD rule, asked.

Mr. Rao wondered how the Minister did not know that the Centre only takes decisions on proposals received from the State.

He said the then TDP government had taken consent from each farmer only for a “green park” and that the Congress government had changed it into an SEZ. He said neither Dr. Geeta Reddy nor Chief Whip N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had any knowledge about SEZs.

He alleged that the Congress government was hand-in-glove with the land mafia and only making callous allegations against him.

“I am for a debate on a television channel. Let Dr. Geeta Reddy produce whatever ‘proof’ she has and I will counter them,” he challenged. Meanwhile, at a press conference, Congress MLA from Jadcherla in Mahabubngar district, where Polepally is located, Mallu Ravi said the ongoing protest was influenced by similar trouble in other States where locals were opposing them at the behest of some political parties.

Only a handful of villagers were agitating on the issue at the behest of certain forces, though a majority of the people were satisfied by the compensation, he said.

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