BJP blames delay in podu land patta for forest official’s killing

Addressing a press conference, Raghunandan Rao said the Chief Minister had promised the tribals that they would be issued pattas for the podu lands they have been cultivating on for years. A delay in tjis has led to unrest among them.

Hyderabad: Dubbaka BJP MLA M Raghunandan Rao on Wednesday alleged that a delay in handing over pattas of podu lands to tribals led to the killing of Forest Range Officer Srinivas Rao in Kothagudem on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, Raghunandan Rao said the Chief Minister had promised the tribals that they would be issued pattas for the podu lands they have been cultivating on for years. A delay in tjis has led to unrest among them.

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“The forest officer became a victim to the anger of tribals. They have been waiting for the pattas for the last eight months, but the government did nothing in that direction leading to the unfortunate incident,”he alleged.

On the Income Tax raids on the residence of Labour Minister C Malla Reddy and his relatives, the BJP MLA said ministers did not have the privilege of being exempted from IT raids.

“If the minister has not done anything wrong, he does not have to worry,” he said.