Vijayawada: Welcoming the Supreme Court directive on the Sadavarthi temple lands, the YSR Congress said that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu should refrain from further attempts to give away the land to his benamis and stop paying interest on the money deposited from the state exchequer.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, party MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy said, “the directive of the Supreme Court seeking the details to establish the ownership of the lands is welcome.”
The lands, spread over 472 acres, were given by the Raja Vasireddy dynasty to enable the poor Brahmin children pursue Vedic studies and to perform daily puja intemples from the proceeds of the land, Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said.
This was in practice since 1885 and there are receipts of tax payment and decrees of Changalpattu Court with the endowments department, he added.
“It is better that the concerned minister takes up the issue and there is no need for minister Lokesh to poke his nose into the issue,” Mr Ramakrishna Reddy said. Mr Lokesh had earlier threatened that there would be income tax raids if someone bids for the land, the MLA observed.
“It was Mr Chandrababu Naidu who moved the Supreme Court though he pretty well knew of losing the rights of the land after we got ready to pay more than what was earlier quoted,” the MLA said.
The second aspect the SC has pointed out is that the High Court should look into the aspect of interest on the deposit paid by the bidders in the re-auction, the MLA explained.
“If the High Court gives its verdict to pay interest, we have no objection, but we strongly demand that such amount should be paid from the pockets of Mr Chandrababu Naidu and his benamis and not from the public money,” the MLA observed.
The state has no right to use public money for paying interest on the amount deposited by the bidder, who is close to the TD leadership, in the re-auction. “ We will oppose attempts by the state to pay interest from the state funds,” the MLA said.
