YSR At Fault: V H Rao

Chaotic scenes led to the abrupt end of a press conference at the Gandhi Bhavan called by senior Congress politician and Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao after he asked the security personnel to remove the reporters of the Telugu daily Sakshi from the premises.

Hanumantha Rao had called for the press conference to blame the former CM, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, for the adverse verdict given by the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal, and to lash out at the 'Jal Deeksha' taken up at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

Hanumantha Rao held YSR responsible for the adverse verdict given by the Tribunal, and for the impending water crisis in the Krishna delta.

The Rajya Sabha member condemned Jaganmohan Reddy's Jal Deeksha against the verdict of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, and said that it was due to the faulty policies adopted by the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy that the state had lost its genuine share of Krishna's waters.

He also accused Jaganmohan Reddy of "shedding crocodile tears".

He alleged that YSR had stated that the state did not need any surplus waters from the Krishna River for the delta region, and that he had deputed inefficient lawyers to represent the state's case before the Tribunal.

Hanumantha Rao added that those inefficient lawyers had failed to argue the case properly.

The Rajya Sabha Member lashed out against the former CM by saying that he had misled the High Command, and had mismanaged funds given by centre on many occasions.

He said that thousands of acres of farmers' lands were occupied illegally, and that they were given away for the establishment of Special Economic Zones during YSR's regime. He added that entrepreneurs had failed to set up industries and provide employment in the SEZs.

The senior Congress leader added that the High Command would initiate strong disciplinary action against the MLAs who are participating in Jal Deeksha with Jaganmohan Reddy in New Delhi.

The PCC chief had already sent a report on the list of participants to the High Command, he pointed out.

It was at this moment that the press conference turned chaotic. A Sakshi reporter asked Hanumantha Rao whether there was any truth to the rumours that the Union Law Minister and In-charge of AP affairs, Veerappa Moily, gave a bribe of Rs. 100 crore to the Tribunal chairman, Justice Brijesh Kumar, for ruling the verdict in favour of Karnataka.

The question perhaps caught Hanumantha Rao off guard, and he shot back at the reporters saying, "Why did you come here? Who invited you to this press conference? I have not invited Sakshi reporters. Do not ask any questions and just note down whatever I say."

The reporters informed him that they were invited to the press conference by the Gandhi Bhavan staff. The angry leader reacted by ordering the security personnel to remove the Sakhsi reporters from the premises.

The press conference thus ended abruptly.

Courtesy: INN