Former minister and maverick Congress leader P Shankar Rao is at it again. He filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the AP High Court on Thursday against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and 11 others over alleged smuggling of red sanders.
Shankar Rao in his plea prayed the court to order a CBI inquiry into alleged corruption and made Minister for Forests Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju, principal secretary of the department Janaki Kondepi and others as respondents.
Alleging a criminal conspiracy to defraud the government of its revenues, the petition prayed for a thorough inquiry into the issue. Shankar Rao also referred to the fact that he filed PILs earlier on Emaar too, which is being investigated by the CBI on court’s orders.
The MLA from Cantonment explained that 2022 metric tonnes of red sander was given away to some people without calling for global tenders, causing a loss of Rs 500 cr to the exchequer.
Claiming that that a lot of money changed hands in the deal, the former minister said that the CM and the Minister played the main role in this affair.
The court is yet to admit the petition.
Shankar Rao’s move against Kiran comes at a time when the CM is under intense pressure following Congress Party’s defeat in the recent bypolls.
Minister D L Ravindra Reddy and senior leader K Keshava Rao have already questioned the leadership of Kiran, which they alleged was resonponsible for the debacle.
