KAKINADA:Former MLA Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddy refuted the allegations levelled against him regarding PDS rice smuggling, and claimed that the image of the Kakinada port is being damaged by such propaganda.
He also accused Kakinada City MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao of taking Rs 5 lakh from each PDS rice trader to facilitate smuggling, and claimed it as the reason why the MLA could not face Pawan Kalyan.
Speaking to media here on Saturday, he condemned the remarks made by Vanamadi, terming them as baseless and alleging that PDS rice is being misused by the coalition government. “Kakinada port stood among the top in rice exports and 90 per cent of the rice exports from the country are from Kakinada, providing employment to a large number. Now the image has been tarnished by the baseless allegations and many exporters are shifting to other ports which will affect thousands of workers,” Dwarampudi averred.