Andra Pradesh minister complains to Chandrababu Naidu against colleague

Visakhapatnam: Exposure of land scams worth thousands of crores in Vizag city has widened the rift between ministers Ch Ayyannapatrudu and Ganta Srinivasa Rao, with Mr Rao writing to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu requesting a CBI or CID probe into the land deals so that the party can be absolved of any involvement as Mr Patrudu has hinted is the case.

He said that Mr Patrudu is trying to tarnish the image of Visakhapatnam and the Telugu Desam.

The two ministers from Visakhapatnam do not see eye to eye on many issues and the land scam has widened the rift between them.

Earlier, Mr Patrudu indirectly accused some TDP leaders and the revenue department of tampering with the revenue records of Madhurawada and Kommadi in Visakhapatnam city.

He said revenue officials have tampered with the land records with the support of TD leaders for the benefit of land sharks and henchmen of TD leaders. The frequent land scams have dented the image of Visakhapatnam and will erode the confidence of investors, he added.

Mr Rao in his letter to Mr Naidu wrote that such baseless allegations have dented the image of Visakhapatnam city and will tarnish the image of TD and the Chief Minister. Such accusations are aimed to cause trouble, Mr Rao said, and requested Mr Naidu to hand over the investigation to the CBI or CID, or to order an inquiry by a sitting judge, so that the true facts can emerge.

He added that taking advantage of Mr Patrudu's remarks, Opposition leaders Botsa Satyanarayana, D Purandeswari and some from the left parties have also tried to corner the TD government.

The state government has been looking for a way to control the damage and could take a decision after Mr Naidu's visit to Visakhapatnam.

Mr Naidu has made several attempts to patch up the differences between the two leaders, but his attempts have fizzled out.