The CBI Court in Nampally has given the permission to prosecute Roads and Buildings minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, and has summoned him to court on 31 January, with regard to his role in the controversy surrounding the VANPIC project while he occupied the position of Revenue Minister.
The permission comes five months after CBI sought it. Two months, the cabinet had even passed a resolution against prosecuting the minister. However, The Nampally CBI court decided that it had no need for the state government's permission to prosecute Dharmana.
Speculation is rife about whether or not Dharmana's long-pending resignation will finally be accepted.
Former minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, who has also been implicated in the same case as Dharmana, will also be appearing in court on the same day.
It may be mentioned that the State Cabinet had rejected the CBI's request to sanction Dharmana's prosecution. However, the same file was rejected by Governor E S L Narasimhan. Mopidevi Venkata Ramana has already been arrested by the CBI in the Vanpic segment of the disproportionate assets case of YSR Congress party president Jaganmohan Reddy.