The former Assembly speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao has found himself in an embarrassing position after he confessed to taking some of the furniture from the state Assembly home, while the capital was shifting from Hyderabad to here.
It was alleged that Kodela, a former speaker and senior leader of the Telugu Desam Party, has taken home quite a long list of furniture, that includes 27 plastic chairs, four sofas and an array of office furniture.
The issue came to light after Y S Jaganmohan Reddy took over the government and a new speaker, T Seetharam was appointed. The new speaker noted that certain furniture which was shifted from Hyderabad was missing.
After a thorough search, it came to light that the furniture was shifted to Kodela’s Sattenpalli home in Guntur district. As a result, the Chief Marshall of the Assembly, Veluru Ganesh Babu was suspended and was sent back to his home department Octopus, where he was working as an Assistant Commandant.
Kodela on Tuesday then admitted he had shifted some furniture and equipment from the Speaker’s Chambers in AP Legislative Assembly to his camp office in Sattenapalli for personal use. “As the Assembly was shifting and I was worried that there was no immediate place to keep them, I took them to my home. I have written several times to the Assembly secretary that I would either pay the cost or they can arrange for the transport to the new Assembly,” Kodela said addressing a press conference.
Surprisingly two computers went missing from Kodela’s home on Thursday night which was reportedly taken by the former speaker from a Skill development centre in the district.
“It clearly shows that the computers went missing a day before Assembly officials were to visit Kodela’s office,” YSRCP leaders in Sattenpalli say. The TDP, on the other hand, is divided over the act of the former Speaker. “He should have avoided the mistake,” said senior TDP leader Varla Ramaiah, adding that Kodela must immediately handover the furniture.