Govt. To Extend Legal Aid To Ponnala

The state government, on Tuesday, decided to extend legal aid to Information Technology minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, on the lines of four other ministers, who received notices for issuing controversial GOs that allegedly helped YSR Congress Party president Jaganmohan Reddy amass illegal wealth.

The government issued a GO extending legal assistance to Ponnala Lakshmaiah, following a letter written by him.

As per the GO, the government would provide legal assistance to and reimburse legal expenses incurred by the ministers D Prasada Rao, P Sabitha Indra Reddy, J Geetha Reddy, Kanna Laxminarayana and Ponnala Laxmaiah.

The Law and Finance departments have already cleared the file, after chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's approval to bear the costs.

Ponnala had submitted a fresh letter to the CM, for legal assistance to respond to the notice issued to him by the Supreme Court.

However, the government is yet to clear the air about its extending legal assistance to former Excise minister Mopidevi Venkataramana, who was among the six ministers who were issued notices by the Supreme Court with regard to the issuance of the 26 controversial GOs.

It may be recalled that 6 ministers - D Prasada Rao, P Sabitha Indra Reddy, J Geetha Reddy, Kanna Laxminarayana, Ponnala Laxmaiah and Mopidevi Venkata Ramana - and eight IAS officers were issued notices by the Supreme Court, following a petition filed by an advocate, P Sudhakar Reddy. (INN)