CM Kiran Agrees For Legal aid to Ponnala
posted on Jul 10, 2012 @ 4:46PM
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has at last agreed to extend legal assistance to Minister for Information Technology Ponnala Lakshmaiah, after keeping the latter on tenterhooks for four days.
Ponnala was among the six ministers of the Y S Rajasekahra Reddy cabinet, who had received notices from the Supreme Court seeking to know why the CBI probe should not be ordered against them for issuing 26 controversial GOs benefiting companies that had invested in the business empire of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
However, last week, the government issued a GO extending legal assistance to only four ministers – J Geetha Reddy, Kanna Lakshminarayana, Dharmana Prasada Rao and Sabita Indra Reddy. The name of Ponnala and Mopidevi were missing. The reason given by the officials was that Ponnala had not written any letter to the government seeking legal help, while Mopidevi’s case has to be examined by the legal department.
Sources said Kiran Kumar Reddy deliberately withheld the requests of Ponnala and Mopidevi. He has suspected that Ponnala lobbied in New Delhi to pull him down from the CM post, while Mopidevi is planning to join YSR Congress party soon after coming out on bail. However, Ponnala managed to influence the Chief Minister using his good offices in New Delhi and get the orders for legal assistance.