PRP sees no opposition in coastal areas

Party receiving good response in Telangana too, says K.S.R. Murthy
Probe sought into corruption charges levelled against Minister

Kakinada: The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) is hopeful of making a clean sweep of all Assembly constituencies in coastal Andhra Pradesh and it does not anticipate even a semblance of a fight from the ruling party, not to mention the seemingly unending woes of the TDP.

The PRP would make its mark in Telangana and Rayalaseema regions as well with social justice as the main election plank, said its leader K.S.R. Murthy.

Sensitive issue

Addressing mediapersons here on Thursday, Mr. Murthy said the Congress lost credibility and the TDP was not in a position to emerge unscathed from its problems. The PRP, he said, was trying to drive home the message that it was prepared to do its best for people’s welfare with service as the sole motto.

The PRP was planning ways to put an end to hardships of SCs, STs and Backward Classes, which were deprived of their rights for a long time.

Asked whether the PRP would prefer creation of separate Telangana, Mr. Murthy said party president Chiranjeevi would make a statement as it was a sensitive issue on which the party could not afford to take a hasty decision. The PRP was getting a good response in this region also contrary to perception that film stars would not be able to sway the electorate here, he asserted.

Dharna plan

Mr. Murthy said the PRP would picket East Godavari district Collector’s Office in a week if the government did not institute an inquiry into the corruption charges levelled by Small Scale Industries Minister Gollapalli Surya Rao against his cabinet colleague J.C. Diwakar Reddy, by the Lok Ayukta or a retired judge of the Supreme Court or Andhra Pradesh High Court. He said it was not a private matter to be deliberated in party forums as the Minister was accused of being involved in swindling of public money.

Many MLAs favoured an inquiry by a sitting judge knowing fully well that it was the least possible thing the government could do to ferret out such stark facts.

There were few instances when an inquiry was done by a sitting judge in India except the ones like Srikrishna Commission, which probed the Mumbai riots.

“It is unfortunate that similar charges traded by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Assembly were never inquired into at the highest level,” Mr. Murthy added.