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VIJAYAWADA: Punganur MLA and former minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy firmly denied his involvement in the Madanapalle RDO fire incident, challenging the State government to present evidence and prove his involvement.
Speaking to mediapersons at his residence in Hyderabad, Peddireddy reaffirmed his commitment to face investigation confidently, citing his clean political record and long-standing public support.
Peddireddy slammed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for alleged political vendetta against him and diversion tactics, promising to take legal action against those perpetuating false narratives. Condemning alleged attempts to assassinate his character, Peddireddy mentioned that some officials, including the Chief Minister and other ministers, are making baseless statements to tarnish his image without any evidence.
Referring to the fire incident in the Madanapalle RDO office, Peddireddy said that records were available in various offices, including the MRO office, Collector’s office, and even in the Secretariat and questioned the credibility of the investigation from a conspiracy angle, especially when officials stated that they had retrieved the data from Madanapalle.
Refuting allegations levelled against him, Peddireddy reiterated his innocence and said that he was not afraid of State government handing over the investigation to the CBI. Recalling the lack of response from the State government to the Godavari Pushkaralu stampede and other incidents, he accused it of a biassed approach to handling cases.
“A section of the media has been intensively spreading false propaganda against him for the past 15 days with derogatory comments in TV debates,” he said and announced that he would file cases against them.
He claimed that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was diverting attention from unfulfilled election promises by citing an empty treasury in spite of inheriting nearly `10,000 crore compared to just `100 crore when YSRC government was formed.