HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam party (TDP) today demanded the removal of Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah from the Cabinet, holding him responsible for the major damage caused by the recent floods.
Speaking to reporters here today, TDP leader Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy alleged that Ponnala had released water from the Srisailam dam amid much fanfare before the floods. But, with the suggestion from an IAS officer attached to the chief minister’s peshi, Ponnala ordered closure of the gates. Had the Srisailam water been released before the floods, the damage due to floods would have been minimal, the TDP leader contended.
``Ponnala Laksmaiah was veering around irrigation contractors for the sake of petty commission.
He is incompetent and not eligible to continue as irrigation minister,’’ Reddy said, adding that Chief Minister K Rosaiah should also own responsibility for the flood damage.
TDP Politburo member and former irrigation minister K Srihari demanded a probe into the flood damage by irrigation experts.
There were doubts that the flood damage was caused by human error and a probe by experts would reveal the actual cause, he said.
Another Politburo member, K Yerran Naidu, charged that ministers confined themselves to guest houses and did not visit the flood-affected areas.
``Ministers K Lakshminarayana, Geetha Reddy and Danam Nagender are making baseless allegations against the TDP only to divert the public attention from the failure of the government in flood management. In fact, the ministers should learn lessons from TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu who had handled floods, including the supercyclone in Orissa, in an effective manner.
The incompetent ministers should resign from the Cabinet,’’ Yerran Naidu said.