Unruly scenes at Vizag DRC meeting

Unruly scenes at Vizag DRC meeting

Special Correspondent, The Hindu - http://www.hindu. com/2007/07/11/stories/2007071156940400.htm

11th July 2007

Heated arguments between Telugu Desam Party, Congress members for 90 minutes - Telugu Desam MLA roughs up policeman in mufti - District officials boycott meet due to lack of security

VISAKHAPATNAM: Heated arguments between the Telugu Desam and Congress members, a TDP MLA Chengala Venkata Rao roughing up a policeman in mufti and snatching agenda papers from officials, and district officers boycotting the meeting due to lack of security for them, marked the District Review Committee meeting held here on Tuesday.

For one-and-a-half hours, the TDP and Congress members along with the Minister in-charge and Chairman of the DRC, Kanna Lakshminarayana, were involved in heated arguments after TDP MLAs Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Mr Venkata Rao wanted response to the questions they had sent to the Collector on the previous day. They along with party MP P. Chalapathi Rao said that the tradition of DRC was to take up important questions first while the Minister said they would be allotted time after the agenda was completed.

Irrigation works

These questions were regarding corruption and the poor quality of work in the case of three irrigation works in Payakaraopeta constituency, details of the agreement the GVMC had made with Jindal company to supply water to the alumina refinery and details of the public hearing on the plant held near S. Kota. The TDP alleged that the ruling party was trying to avoid the questions as the irrigation works were done by Chief Minister's close relative.

Twice the Minister wanted the officials to read the agenda but the latter were stopped from doing so and the agenda papers were snatched by Mr. Venkata Rao. There was more trouble later when the Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Praja Parishad P. Rama Rao started reading the agenda. Mr. Venkata Rao rushed towards the officer asking him to stop.

Roughed up

A couple of plainclothes policemen standing near Mr. Rama Rao tried to prevent the MLA and it was then that Mr. Venkata Rao roughed up one of them and pushed him away. Later, he said that policemen should not be present inside the place where the DRC was held. He had mistaken the policeman for a Congress goonda and pushed him away, the MLA said.

It was immediately after this incident that the officials left the meeting hall in protest against the MLA's behaviour towards the officials. The Minister adjourned the meeting for half-an-hour and when the dispute was not resolved, postponed it.