Pawan Kalyan pulls up TDP MLA over rice smuggling from Kakinada Port

Amaravati, Nov 29 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Friday visited Kakinada Port and expressed his ire over the port authorities and local MLA for failing to check the smuggling of the rice meant for the Public Distribution System.

Pawan Kalyan along with Civil Supplies Minister Nandendla Manohar visited the port and spoke to officials and local public representatives.

The Jana Sena leader pulled up port officials and Kakinada MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the presence of a large number of people.

The Deputy Chief Minister's visit came two days after the seizure of 640 tonnes of PDS rice at the anchorage port. The rice was being exported to West Africa by a ship.

"I came to Kakinada port to check the smuggling of PDS rice. A scam that became rampant in the last regime was continuing. This port looks like free for all. No accountability," posted Pawan Kalyan on the social media platform 'X'.

Pawan Kalyan, who holds the portfolios of Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Rural Water Supply, Environment, Forests, Science & Technology, intervened in an issue pertaining to the portfolio of his party colleague Nadendla Manohar.

Stating that rice was being illegally exported from the port, Manohar said action would be taken against officials involved. He told media persons that PDS rice stored in mills and warehouses was being seized.

However, how the actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan admonished the TDP MLA surprised everyone.

This is the second instance of Pawan Kalyan expressing his displeasure publicly over the working of a leader belonging to his ally TDP, which is heading the coalition government.

On November 5, Pawan Kalyan had warned Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha that he would take over her portfolio.

Voicing concern over a spike in crimes against women and children in the state, Pawan Kalyan had criticised Anitha of "incompetence" and warned he would take over her portfolio if the law and order in the state did not improve.

Pawan Kalyan also visited the lands of a company owned by former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Palnadu district and ordered an inquiry into alleged irregularities in land acquisition.

The Deputy Chief Minister ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the acquisition of 1,043.75 acres of patta (private) land, 75 acres of dotted lands, and 24 acres of assigned land acquired by Saraswati Power and Industries Private Limited project in Vemavaram village of Machavaram Mandal.

--IANS

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