Hyderabad: The BRS on Sunday demanded the immediate dismissal of minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy over alleged corruption and illegal mining. BRS working president KT Rama Rao said the party would approach the governor with a formal complaint if the govt failed to act, and warned that the issue would be taken to the public through a large-scale agitation.KTR said the allegations gained strength after BRS leader T Harish Rao presented documentary evidence, reportedly sourced from govt records, linking a company associated with the minister’s family to illegal mining violations. He questioned why action had been taken against other firms while Raghava Constructions was allegedly being protected. KTR also accused chief minister Revanth Reddy of making contradictory statements, especially after reportedly admitting irregularities but later attempting to distance the govt from responsibility.According to KTR, the minister’s wife, son and brother are directly connected to the company, while Ponguleti himself served as its chairman between 2020 and 2022. He alleged that the chief minister’s defence of the company suggested deeper involvement and linked the matter to contracts under the Kodangal Lift Irrigation Project and wider land-related irregularities.The BRS also demanded a house committee probe into the roles of the minister, the chief minister and others. KTR alleged that mining revenue figures did not match expected collections, raising concerns about the large-scale diversion of public funds. He further accused the govt of shielding those involved despite legal provisions that could lead to imprisonment in repeat violation cases.On the Hyderabad Metro issue, KTR alleged that the govt was attempting to shift a private company’s debt burden onto the people while enabling control over 280 acres of prime land. He called it a major land scam and demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting high court judge.
