Parties want CBI to probe land scam

Don’t allow issue to fade away, fire Deputy CM: Opposition tells KCR

Opposition leaders from the Congress, BJP and the TD on Thursday demanded Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao immediately seek a CBI probe into the multi-crore Miyapur land scam, as it involves ministers and senior IAS officials, including one working in the Chief Minister’s Office.

Speaking in the Gandhi Bhavan, AICC generalsecretary Digvijay Singh said the Congress has no confidence in the CID probe ordered by the CM and wants the CBI to take over the investigation.

Referring to ‘missing’ government land in various scams, including Bhoodan land, Mr Singh said that the Congress will not object if the CM orders a CBI probe into all land deals, even those finalised during the Congress rule.

He said it is not proper for the CM to take action only against a few lowerrung officials and allow the matter to fade away, as happened in the cases related to gangster Nayeemuddin, where the CM suspended some police officials and took no action against politicians involved.

Mr Singh accused minister for animal husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav of involvement in the Miyapur land scam, and alleged that the Chief Minister needed such a minister to help him in arranging finances.

Mr Yadav has denied any involvement in the scam and has demanded that Mr Singh prove it.

Elsewhere, TS TD working president A Revanth Reddy alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Mohd. Mahmood Ali and his peshi officials were involved in the scam, as is a senior IAS officer working in the CMO, who is a close relative of the main accused in the Miyapur land scam, P.S. Prasad, better known as Goldstone Prasad.

Mr Revanth Reddy demanded that the Deputy CM be sacked immediately. He too was dissatisfied with the case being handled by the CID because this was bigger than any previous scam, he said.

The TD leader said that the audit report that suspected that the scam had taken place had reached the Deputy CM’s peshi a long time ago but was suppressed by Mr Mahmood Ali.

He asked how it was proper for the CM to review the land scam in the presence of his secretary, who is the sister of Goldstone Prasad’s wife.

Mr Revanth Reddy said that without revealing the corruption charges to the public, the CM had earlier dismissed the then Deputy CM T. Rajaiah from the Cabinet, so how can he now keep Mr Mahmood Ali in his Cabinet when there were allegations of his involvement in the land scam?

BJP’s chief spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao called this a major land scam and also demanded a CBI probe since it allegedly involves the CM and several of his Cabinet colleagues.

“Why is the CM silent? Why did he not dismiss Mahmood Ali?” he asked.

TD’s Revanth Reddy released the number of a Mercedes Benz car TS10EH 6666 - and demanded to know how it was being allowed inside the CMO frequently and who was travelling in it