KVP plans privilege move against Union Minister

‘Reply to query on Polavaram lacks clarity’

K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, Member of Parliament in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Congress Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao on Monday said he was contemplating moving a privilege motion against Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sanjeev Kumar Balyan for misleading the House while replying to a question raised by him and party colleague Digvijaya Singh on cost revision and other aspects of the Polavaram project.

Talking to the media after coming out of the Rajya Sabha, Dr. Ramachandra Rao said there was no proper answer to the question of why the Central government asked the Andhra Pradesh government to execute Polavaram which was declared a national project by an Act of Parliament.

Speaking to

The Hindu , Mr Ramachandra Rao said he had submitted a request for a 30-minute discussion on the Polavaram project as the answers given by the Union Minister were neither satisfactory nor clear.

A decision would be taken on going for a privilege motion after getting the text for the discussion in the House, he said.

‘Completion by

2018 ruled out’

The MP said the Minister had not answered the question whether the cost revision was approved by the Polavaram authority. But the Minister was very clear in saying that there was no possibility of the project getting completed in 2018. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act stipulated that the Centre should execute the project “expeditiously.”

“This is a word rarely used in legislation, but it was used for the sake of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.