Days after the death of former Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, two letters are creating a storm in the state. The TDP has alleged that these letters, written by Kodela Rao in June and August, show that he did not ‘steal’ furniture from the Assembly and had every intention to pay for the pieces he had shifted to his camp office in Sattenapalli and Guntur.
The YSRCP government however has said that Kodela had faked one of the letters and this will be proven through an investigation.
A source in the YSRCP government has provided documents to TNM and alleged that these documents prove that the Assembly Secretariat had sent letters to Kodela in July 2019 about returning furniture and electronic items. The government also alleged that Kodela wrote a letter on June 7 to the Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature, and in that he mentioned only about electronic items belonging to the government that his office had been using.
What the TDP alleges
According to the TDP, the YSRCP government filed cases against Kodela even though he had written to the Assembly Secretary in June 2019 about the furniture, and sent a reminder on August 20, 2019.
Kodela Rao and his son Sivarama Krishna were booked by the Andhra Pradesh police on August 24, under Section 409 (Criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC, for diverting Assembly furniture to premises owned by them, in Guntur district. The case was filed after a complaint by AP Legislature Secretary P Balakrishnamacharyulu.
The case had triggered a major row, and the TDP has maintained that it was this alleged harassment that led to Kodela’s alleged suicide.
In the first letter dated June 7, Kodela referred to an earlier conversation with the Secretary on June 3, and said that he had shifted the furniture being used at his office in Hyderabad, to his camp office at Sattenapalli and in Guntur for his official use. As the government changed hands, instead of returning the old furniture, Kodela said in the letter that he wanted to pay for the cost of the furniture.
"I therefore request you to calculate the value of the said furniture items so as to make the payment, or otherwise if permitted, the same may be treated as wear and tear items," the letter added. A copy of this letter was presented to the media by Kodela during his press meet in August. The TDP has however raised it again.
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In the second letter dated August 20, which was addressed to Speaker T Seetharam, Kodela reiterated his claim, and added, "I therefore request you to instruct the authorities concerned to calculate the value of the electronic items and furniture items so as to make the payment."
Kodela didn’t have any intention to pay for the furniture: Govt
A source in the government said that Kodela wrote only one letter in June. In this letter dated June 7, he referred to a telephonic conversation on June 3 in which the Assembly Secretary asked him to return the electronic items supplied to his camp office. The letter said, “The said electronic items are not traceable since they were supplied long back and they might be in wear and tear position and due to which the same might be dumped elsewhere. I am therefore to request you to calculate the present value of the said items so as to make the payment or otherwise if permitted, the same may be treated as wear and tear items.”
These items included six computers, a printer, a photocopy machine and a few other items.
“Kodela did not acknowledge the missing furniture, this is why the Assembly Secretary wrote to him in July,” the source said.
The government source has released two letters written by the Assembly Secretary on July 29 – one to Kodela and another to the Managing Director of the AP Technological Services.
The letter (with two annexures) to Kodela said that the Secretariat had arranged furniture for official use at Kodela’s camp office and “it has not been returned.” This included 161 different kinds of chairs, four sofas and two split air conditioners.
The letter to the Managing Director of the AP Technological Services, furnishing the details of computer systems and accessories which had been purchased, asked them to assess the present value of the items mentioned. A copy of this letter was also marked to Kodela.
The source alleged that Kodela’s letter on June 7 about the furniture was in fact not written in that month, but was only written in August and was back-dated and sent only after a complaint was filed against him. “The MLA from Narasaraopet, Gopireddy Srinivasa Reddy, complained to Speaker office on August 15, and then subsequently a police complaint was filed. The letter mentioning furniture was never sent to the Secretariat. Also, if you look carefully, they have added the word ‘former’ to the title of Speaker on the letterhead,” the source alleged.
“Even if we go by what Kodela said in his letter, the furniture was recovered from his son’s showroom. What was it doing there? Also, government employees or even the Speaker cannot take government property, that is the law. Why should a case not have been filed against Kodela?” asked the source.
The investigation
The TDP has questioned why the Secretary went ahead and filed a police complaint in August, despite receiving a letter in June. When contacted, Secretary P Balakrishnamacharyulu told TNM, "I'm not the competent person to speak on the matter. The issue is under consideration and purview of the Speaker. I'm not authorised to speak."
Meanwhile, the police in Hyderabad on Wednesday said that they were analysing the call records of Kodela to find out who the last few people he spoke to were, before his death.
ACP K Srinivas Rao said that they have questioned 12 people so far, as part of the investigation. The statements of Kodela's wife and daughter were also recorded.
Kodela's daughter, Vijayalakshmi, in her police complaint, alleged that the YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh was harassing her father politically to take revenge. She alleged that false cases were filed against him and other family members, due to which he got depressed and took the extreme step.
About the controversy over the letters, Thullur police station circle inspector Vijay Krishna told TNM, "We had not received a copy of the letter that Kodela wrote in June. We registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint. Both the accused in the case had moved for anticipatory bail and the case was being heard by the High Court. Meanwhile, we had recovered some furniture from Guntur and handed over the same to the Assembly. We were yet to take down Kodela's statement as he was in Hyderabad.”