TDP has demanded that all the ministers, who were served notices by the Supreme Court for issuing controversial GOs and Secondary Education Minister K. Parthasarathy, who was convicted in the FERA regulation violation case, should be immediately dismissed from the cabinet.
Talking to the media here on Thursday, party leaders Kadiyam Srihari, Motkupalli Narasimhulu and L Ramana condemned the government for providing legal aid to the ministers, who were served with notices. They said that Parthasarathy admitted his guilt paying the fine imposed on him by the court. They said that they failed to understand under which democratic or constitutional values the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was allowing even a convicted minister to continue in his cabinet.
They demanded that the Chief Minister should dismiss him if he had any regard for constitutional, political and moral values. They said that people were made to bow their heads in shame because of the allegations being faced by the ministers. It was sad that neither the Congress, nor the ministers were thinking of correcting their follies. They pointed out that though the Supreme Court had issued notices to five ministers for issuing 26 controversial GOs, the government had not bothered to act against them. Even after a retired judge charged Law Minister Erasu Pratapa Reddy of involvement in the Gali bail scam, there was no action against him, they said.
They also pointed out that Parthasarathy has not mentioned about the trial case in the affidavit he had filed during the 2009 general elections and said such a person had no moral right to continue in the government. They said that he could even be disqualified and banned from contesting elections for six years under Section 8(1) of the Representation of People’s Act – 1951. They said that they would be meeting the Governor and asking him to direct the Chief Minister to remove the tainted ministers from the cabinet.
GOVT PAYING LAWYER FEE TO THIEVES: MOTKUPALLI
Motkupalli Narasimhulu has sarcastically said that instead of taking action, the government was even paying the lawyer fees of thieves. Stating that this was an insult to the people, he has questioned if there was any need for a responsible person to quit under the given circumstances. He said that Congress was only enamored of power and not reputation. He said that while the ministers had no right to continue, the Chief Minister also had no right to retain them. Referring to the challenge of Erasu Pratapa Reddy to lynch him if he had committed any offence, he demanded that he should first resign. He questioned why Mopidevi alone was sent to jail. (NSS)