Illegal sand mining in Andhra Pradesh has BJP’s tacit support, alleges AICC leader Manickam Tagore

Illegal sand mining in Andhra Pradesh has BJP’s tacit support, alleges AICC leader Manickam Tagore. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has helped the BJP-led government at the Centre in passing crucial Bills in Parliament as part of the quid-pro-quo deal, and at the cost of the State’s interests, alleges Manikam Tagore. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge will address one of the four public rallies in the State in the last week of February, followed by three bigger rallies to be addressed by the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Telangana, he says.

All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Manikam Tagore on February 15 (Thursday) demanded a fair investigation into the “illegal sand mining” taking place in the State

Addressing the media here, Mr. Tagore pointed out that the Centre had informed the Andhra Pradesh High Court that illegal sand mining was taking place in the State. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPDB), after inspecting the sand reaches on the instructions of the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Southern Bench, had confirmed large-scale illegal sand mining.

“When the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is aware of the illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh, what has stopped it from taking action against the perpetrators of the unlawful act,” Mr. Tagore questioned.

He alleged that the Centre was in the know of things and extended its tacit support to “this loot of public property.” The Congress party would build pressure on the Centre to take stringent action against those violating norms, he added.

Alleging a “quid pro quo” between the YSRCP government in the State and the BJP-led government at the Centre, the Congress leader said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had supported the Centre in the last five years, bailing it out while passing crucial Bills like the one on Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation, triple talaq, or the recent Telecommunications Bill in Parliament.

“Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has the option of bargaining in favour of the Special Category Status (SCS) for the State for extending his MPs’ support to the Centre, but he relegated the State’s interests to the back burner,” he alleged.

Accusing the Chief Minister of surrendering the interests of the people to the Centre like his predecessor and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, the AICC leader said Mr. Naidu had walked out of the NDA stating that he wanted the SCS. “I want Mr. Naidu to explain if he would insist on SCS for the State before re-entering the NDA now,” he asked.