Former PCC president and senior Congress leader Ponnala Lakshmaiah has alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government has drawn additional water from Pothireddypadu head regulator for the last three years hurting the interests of Telangana but Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was silent on this.
In a statement here, he alleged that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao was deliberately silent to secure votes of supporters of late Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajashekara Reddy in Telangana during the Assembly elections and now his meeting with Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was also to secure those votes in the municipal elections.
Mr Chandrasekhar Rao abused Mr. Rajashekara Reddy when he was alive and even after his death and his followers and YSR party activists have not forgotten those words, he said.
Congress faulted
Mr. Ponnala said when the previous Congress government allowed the withdrawal of 40,000 cusecs from 11,000 cusecs from Pothireddypady after Telangana needs were completed, KCR made a big issue and accused the Congress party of being servile to AP’s interests.
Similarly, he made a big issue when the Congress government prepared proposals and started work on the Dummugudem tailpond. But the same person is now talking of diverting Godavari waters to Krishna basin.
“Why is he now silent when the AP Chief Minister announced the decision to increase to 80,000 cusecs from 40,000,” he asked. In fact, water was illegally taken away during the last three years but KCR was silent. “I am ready for a debate with all the statistics on the issue and want the Chief Minister to respond on it,” he said.
Mr. Ponnala wanted to know why KCR and Jagan held a six-hour meeting without the presence of officials from both the States if the talks were on water sharing.
