Tourism Minister accuses YSRCP of resorting to misleading campaign on TTD land allotments

Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh on Saturday (August 30, 2025) alleged that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), during its tenure, had “obstinately allotted land for the construction of Mumtaz Hotel, Emaar and Devlok projects at Alipiri near the Tirumala Hills in the name of tourism development, despite objections raised by religious institutions and spiritual organisations.”

In a statement, the Minister questioned why Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, then TTD Chairman, did not prevent such land allotments.

The NDA government in the State, taking the public sentiments into consideration, held discussions with the management of Mumtaz Hotel and allotted 25 acres of land to it at a location outside the TTD limits and cancelled the earlier land allotment.

Launching a broadside against the YSRCP for “running a false propaganda that the TDP-led coalition government was allotting TTD lands to private parties”, Mr. Durgesh said, “The YSRCP, during its tenure, had violated the sanctity of Tirumala and was resorting to a misleading campaign hurling baseless allegations at the ruling party now.”

Referring to the Sugali Preethi case reported from Kurnool district in 2017, the Minister assured that the TDP would ensure justice to the victim’s family. He condemned the YSRCP for levelling baseless allegations against the Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan in the case and “provoking the victim’s mother Parvathi to speak against him”.

Asserting that the JSP was on the forefront of the struggle to seek justice for Preethi’s family, Mr. Durgesh said as a result of the party’s efforts, the victim’s family had received a financial assistance of ₹8 lakh, a five-cent house site near Kurnool, five acres of land and a job for the girl’s father in the Revenue Department.