It may be recalled that the Supreme Court gave notices to six ministers who were responsible for issuing some controversial GOs which doled benefits to Jagan. Of these, Mopidevi Venkata Ramana is in jail. Dharmana Prasada Rao and Sabita Indra Reddy were already named accused. Now a Damocles’ sword is hanging over the remaining three – J Geeta Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Kanna Lakshmi Narayana.
Naming of Sabita threw the entire cabinet into a turmoil and the three ministers spent a sleepless night on Monday. As CBI has informed the court that it would soon complete investigation into other aspects and file further charge-sheets, it now became clear that none would be spared.
Of the three, Ponala appears to be in greater stress. Ponnala was the minister for irrigation and he is facing the charge of irregularly allotting water to India Cements. Though Geeta Reddy is charged of violating rules in the allocation of lands to Brahmani Steels and Brahmini Infra industries, as the lands were taken back and as no loss was caused to the government, she might not face serious problems, say sources. Kanna Lakshmi Narayana is facing the charge of irregularly providing tax concessions to the Ramki company. However, as the decision was taken after the death of Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, it might not be linked to Jagan and hence the intensity of the case might not be that serious. Of the three, Ponnala Lakshmaiah appears to be in more serious trouble than the others.
