HYDERABAD: Under severe attack from Opposition parties following the suicide of BJP activist S Sai Ganesh in Khammam, Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar brandished the Kamma card on Friday, while speaking at a community event in Wyra. Terming the BJP worker’s death on April 14 a “small incident”, Ajay Kumar alleged that some “pseudo-Chowdarys” were conspiring against Kamma leaders in both Telugu States. Stating that he was the only Kamma Minister in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Ajay Kumar pointed to the instance of Kamma leader Kodali Nani being ousted from Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Cabinet.
The Minister was inaugurating a Kamma Kalyana Mandapam and his audience consisted primarily of community members. On a day when the Telangana High Court issued notices to him and seven others in a lunch motion PIL relating to the Sai Ganesh suicide case, he said that the very existence of jaathi (read Kamma caste) was in danger and called upon all Kammas to unite cutting across the party lines. In Telangana, CM K Chandrasekhar Rao was “Srirama Raksha” (strong protector) for Kammas, he said. After Nani’s removal from the AP Cabinet, the value of CM KCR was understood by all here, he enthused.
Ajay Kumar recalled that five MLAs, one MP, one MLC, one parliamentary party leader, one Mayor, two municipal chairperson, one Minister belonged to Kamma caste in Telangana.Ajay Kumar’s remarks come in the wake of his differences with several Kamma leaders in the district such as Thummala Nageswara Rao and Nama Nageswara Rao. The differences have become more pronounced after Sai Ganesh’s suicide.
Later, in the afternoon, the Telangana High Court ordered the issue of notices to Ajay Kumar and seven others after admitting a lunch motion PIL filed by a Dr K Krishnaiah seeking a CBI probe into Sai Ganesh’s suicide.
Among those served notices include the Secretary, Union Home Ministry, Principal Secretary of the State Home Department, Khammam Police Commissioner, Station House Officers of II and III Town Police Stations, Director CBI, local TRS leader Prasanna Krishna. The court asked them to respond to the notices within two weeks and adjourned the PIL to April 29, 2022.
Counsel for the petitioner, Abhinav Krishna informed the court that the Sai Ganesh ended his life unable to bear harassment by the Khammam police at the behest of Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar.He further stated that Sai Ganesh was falsely implicated in 10 criminal cases and, before succumbing, he had even made a video clip on his dying declaration alleging that the Minister was responsible for his death.
He had said that Khammam police, interestingly had registered a case against Sai Ganesh instead of those who he had named in the video clip. He had said that the police had yielded to the pressure from Minister Ajay Kumar and hence the need for a CBI inquiry.
Advocate General B S Prasad informed the court that a case is registered in III Town police station, Khammam under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the police are investigating various aspects of Sai Ganesh’s death.