Visakhapatnam, Jan 28: YSR Congress Party leaders led by Legislative Council Opposition Leader Botsa Satyanarayana submitted a memorandum to the GVMC Commissioner and Mayor demanding immediate withdrawal of the proposal to regularise 54.79 acres of prime government land worth over Rs. 5,000 crore in favour of GITAM educational institutions. The delegation included Visakhapatnam district president K.K. Raju, MLC Kumbha Ravi Babu, corporators and senior YSRCP leaders.
Addressing the media, Botsa Satyanarayana criticised Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s family orchestrating a massive land grab in Visakhapatnam and condemned the attempt to legalise land encroached by GITAM, owned by Visakhapatnam MP Bharat, a close relative of Minister Nara Lokesh. He said a private institution that collects lakhs of rupees in fees from students had no moral or legal right to government land, and termed the government’s move to include the proposal in the January 30 GVMC Council agenda as unconstitutional and unethical. He said YSRCP had demanded that the proposal be removed from the agenda, warning that the party would intensify its agitation if the government did not withdraw it.
Botsa announced that YSRCP leaders would inspect the occupied land and oppose the proposal inside the Council, besides launching sustained protests along with political parties, Left organisations, public groups and intellectuals. He demanded that BJP, Jana Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan clarify whether they support or oppose what he called a Rs. 5,000-crore public land grab, questioning their silence on the issue. He asked whether this was “speed of doing business” or speed of looting public assets, and whether grabbing government land could ever be called ethical governance. He also demanded reopening of the SIT probe into Visakhapatnam land irregularities, stating that retired officials had earlier confirmed that government land under GITAM’s occupation had been resumed as early as 1998–99. He said YSRCP’s sole objective was to stop the ongoing land plunder and protect public assets.
Visakhapatnam YSRCP president K.K. Raju said the coalition government was abusing power to gift government lands worth thousands of crores to favoured institutions and real-estate interests, alleging that nearly Rs. 30,000 crore worth of land had been handed over since it came to power. He termed the GITAM regularisation proposal unjust and undemocratic, urged intellectuals and educated citizens to reflect on the land plunder, and said North Andhra was being treated with step-motherly neglect. He asserted that YSRCP would continue its struggle until the proposal was scrapped and government lands were safeguarded.
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