Praja Vedika building constructed illegally, will be demolished: Andhra Min

Backing his government's decision of demolishing the Praja Vedika building constructed by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister P Anil Kumar on Tuesday said the building was constructed illegally and needs to be demolished.

Speaking to ANI, Kumar said, "Former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu constructed 'Praja Vedika' building illegally. It is built on the banks of the river. Jagan Reddy called for a meeting with all collectors and HODs of all departments. He wants a transparent and corruption-free government."

"The Chief Minister (Reddy) has said that we are sitting in a place which is an illegal building and it does not have any permission. Irrigation engineers have said that the building does not have any permission. Naidu constructed this. Reddy wants to start a transparent government," he added.

The demolition of 'Praja Vedika' building will start from Wednesday as per the orders of Jagan Reddy.

When asked if any party is opposing the demolition of the building since it was constructed using public money, the Irrigation Minister said, "In case of a flood if anything happens to people who will be responsible? If a wrong is being by the previous government, we need to correct it now."

"Naidu should be ashamed. As Ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh residing in the illegal building, what message does it send to the people? He is still in that illegal building which shows how corrupt he is," said Kumar.

Hitting out at the TDP, which asked whether the government will demolish the Polavaram project, Kumar said that it is a central government project and the YSRCP government will complete it within three years.

"Why will we demolish the Polavaram project? It is a central government project and it is legal as well. Polavaram was started by late Rajashekar Reddy and we will finish it within a span of three years," he said.

'Praja Vedika' was constructed next to the residence of Naidu by the previous TDP government. It was being used for both government and party-related activities.

After the TDP's defeat in the recent Assembly elections, Naidu wrote to Reddy on June 5, urging him to allocate the building to him in the capacity of Leader of Opposition.

Naidu's TDP suffered a severe drubbing at the hands of Reddy's YSRCP which got the absolute majority in the 175-member Assembly by winning 151 seats. In the Lok Sabha elections, YSRCP bagged 22 out of 25 seats while the TDP got just three seats.