

VIJAYAWADA: Former MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy said he is ready for an open debate with Gurazala MLA Yarapathineni Srinivas on faction politics, murders, constituency development and welfare, stressing that people of Palnadu are weary of violence and vendetta politics.
Speaking to the media at his residence, Reddy alleged that wherever Yarapathineni has won, factionalism, fear and revenge have spread across villages, adding that sacrificing innocents under the guise of power is not politics.
He held the MLA and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu responsible for the murder of Dalit activist Manda Salman, questioning whether visiting one’s native village to see an ailing wife had become a crime.
Former MLA Kasu Mahesh condemned the filing of cases against Salman while he was unconscious and the attempt to prevent his funeral in his own village, calling it unprecedented cruelty and a failure of law and order.
Kasu Mahesh further alleged that seven people had died of diarrhoea in Piduguralla and Dachepalli mandals, yet even after 18 months, the government had not paid ex gratia, exposing administrative collapse.