Amaravati: Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Monday passed orders to demolish 'Praja Vedika', located adjacent to Leader of Opposition and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's residence.
"If a common man constructs a building without permission, it will be demolished by the officers. Our government respect law and follow all the rules," said Jagan Mohan Reddy at Collectors' conference.
The YSR Congress Party government on Saturday took possession of the conference hall, even as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) termed it "vendetta politics".
The opposition alleged that the government showed no courtesy to the former chief minister as his belongings were thrown out of the building in Undavalli here. Naidu has been staying in the house at Undavalli on the banks of Krishna river since 2016 when Andhra Pradesh shifted its administration to Amaravati from Hyderabad, which became the capital of Telangana.
The 'Praja Vedika' (people's grievance cell) was built by the government through Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), as an extension to the then chief minister's residence. Built at a cost of Rs 8 crore, it was being used by Naidu for official purposes as well as to hold party meetings.
Naidu had, earlier this month, written to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to allow him to use the structure to hold the meetings. He had urged the government to declare the property as residence annex of the Leader of Opposition.
However, the government on Friday decided to take over the Praja Vedika, even as Naidu was holidaying abroad with his family members, and announced that collectors' conference will be held there. The conference, the first since the YSCRP came to power, was earlier scheduled to be held at the state secretariat.
The move came close on the heels of a statement by YSRCP legislator Alla Ramakrishna Reddy that Naidu will be made to vacate the house as it was built illegally on the river bed. TDP leader and Legislative Council member Ashok Babu said the government staff threw out personal belongings of Naidu. He alleged that the party was not informed about the government's decision to take over the premises.
TDP state president Kala Venkat Rao said, “We had requested that the structure be allocated to us. But the government did not respond. Instead, officials just threw out our leader’s belongings from Praja Vedika. This is not correct."
Municipal Administration Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, however, taunted the TDP to say that Naidu would be treated in the same manner as Jagan Mohan Reddy was treated when he was the Leader of Opposition. He reached Praja Vediaka when TDP's Andhra Pradesh unit president Kala Venkat Rao was addressing the media to criticise the government for the manner in which it took over the possession of the premises.
Satyanarayana said after losing power, Naidu should gracefully leave and it was not proper to say that Praja Vedika belonged to him, as it was not his personal property. TDP senior leader and former minister Y. Ramakrishnudu termed the government's action in taking possession of Praka Vedika as witch-hunting. "The government has deliberately resorted to this action. If it did not want to give Praja Vedika, it could have communicated the same in writing," he said.
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