The demolition of Praja Vedika, the conference hall constructed by the previous Telugu Desam Party government on the banks of Krishna river near Vundavalli in Andhra Pradesh was definitely not taken kindly by the TDP headed by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
While YSR Congress party leaders are strongly defending the decision on the ground that Praja Vedika was an illegal construction, a couple of opposition parties like Jana Sena Party and the CPI (M) also welcomed the move.
Surprisingly, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have opposed the demolition of the conference hall.
Former Union minister and senior leader Daggubati Purandeshwari, who is in fact a bitter critic of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, felt that Praja Vedika should not have been demolished.
While admitting that it was not correct to allow illegal constructions, Purandeshwari said it would have been better if the building had been used for other public purposes.
BJP state unit president Kanna Lakshminarayana, too, described the demolition of Praja Vedika by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government as a hasty decision.
“It might be an unauthorised construction, but it should not have been demolished. Instead, it could have been converted into a hospital or used for other public purposes. Public money worth more than Rs 8 crore has gone down the drain,” he said.
One wonders why the BJP leaders, who should have been happy with the troubles created to Naidu, were so disappointed.
Inquiries revealed that several constructions that came up on the banks of Krishna river belonged to the BJP leaders.
For example, former BJP MP Gokaraju Gangaraju has a huge farmhouse nearer to Chandrababu Naidu’s residence.
He also has a share in the massive building that houses the nature cure hospital of Manthena Satyanarayana Raju a few metres away.
If Praja Vedika is demolished, the government will have go in for demolition of all those illegal constructions. And that was the reason why the BJP leaders have become panicky!