‘Luxury tourist retreat’ on Rushikonda: A.P. Legislative Assembly to discuss it in detail on November 18

People need to know how Jagan Mohan Reddy fulfilled his personal wish to have the CMO there at the cost of the public exchequer, observes Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu; the former CM deserves to be put in jail for life, says BJP MLA Vshnu Kumar Raju

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on November 14, 2024 (Thursday) witnessed a discussion during the Question Hour on the A.P. Tourism Development Corporation’s (APTDC) “luxurious tourist retreat” built on the Rushikonda hill in Visakhapatnam, which Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu said was “interesting and warranted” a detailed deliberation on another day in view of the seriousness of the matter.

Mr. Ayyanna Patrudu allotted time for it on November 18, saying that people needed to know how the former Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, had fulfilled his personal wish to have the CMO there at the cost of the public exchequer.

BJP legislator representing Visakhapatnam North constituency P. Vishnu Kumar Raju said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy deserved to be put in jail for life for getting seven palatial buildings constructed atop Rushikonda hill at an exorbitant cost of nearly ₹500 crore when the State was in dire straits due to bifurcation, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.

The blatant misuse of powers by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who wanted to use one of the buildings as the CMO, was evident as was the wastage of people’s money at his behest, Mr. Raju observed.

“Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy derived sadistic pleasure by sending TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu to jail in the skill development scam case by making an unsubstantiated charge that he and other co-accused misappropriated large sums of public money. On the contrary, the lavish buildings constructed on Rushikonda hill in a built-up area of 1,47,767 feet at a staggering rate of ₹15,293 per square feet and against all norms are in front of our eyes. It was a grave mistake committed by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, for which he should be imprisoned for all of his life,” the BJP leader insisted.

Mr. Raju furthter said the YSRCP government had destroyed the hill by constructing the buildings in 9.88 acres of a total project site of 61 acres, and the officers and employees concerned could not speak out against it due to fear of retribution. It was a major fraud that the government should inquire into and take action against those involved in it, Mr. Raju asserted.

‘Wrong affidavits in courts’

Undi legislator K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju of the TDP said the YSRCP government had committed perjury by filing wrong affidavits in the courts that no violations took place in the construction of the buildings, and suggested derisively that they be retained as a monument to show to the people how Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was obsessed with leading a royal life in opulent structures.

Published - November 14, 2024 07:58 pm IST