HYDERABAD: The Telangana BJP sought to keep up the pressure on the Congress government over the Section 22-A land issue, with BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy arriving at the Assembly premises with a challenge on his lips and his supporters in tow, demanding an open debate with Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy.
The two sides had agreed to face each other at the Assembly media point, but Srinivasa Reddy, who arrived at noon, left after waiting until 2 pm. Maheshwar Reddy, who arrived with party cadre, alleged that the minister had avoided the debate because he had no answers to questions over lands placed on the prohibited list.
The BJP cadre and police pushed each other briefly as Maheshwar Reddy and his supporters entered the Assembly premises.
“If Ponguleti had not committed any wrongdoing, he would have come for a democratic debate. His staying away only proves his guilt,” Maheshwar Reddy said.
He alleged that privately owned lands had been included in the Section 22-A list and that lands belonging to the poor and Dalits were being taken over through illegal transfers and quid pro quo transactions. He also alleged that commissions were being collected for clearing properties from the prohibited list.
Maheshwar Reddy demanded a white paper on Ponguleti’s assets since he became a minister and sought an explanation from Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy over his remarks alleging a conspiracy behind the land transactions. He said the issue amounted to a violation of Article 300A of the Constitution, which protects the right to property, and alleged that the problems that began under Dharani were continuing under Bhu Bharathi.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman, meanwhile, said people whose lands had been wrongly included in the prohibited list were still unable to register their properties despite government assurances.
He too sought a white paper on the inclusion and deletion of lands from the list and questioned why there was no time limit for resolving such cases. He also alleged that government, Wakf and endowments lands were being illegally registered by changing survey numbers.
Laxman questioned the government’s decision to defer action until Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy returned from his foreign tour, calling it an attempt to buy time, and asked whether it was prepared to order a probe by a sitting judge.
