YCP demands Speaker Kodela's resignation on moral grounds for spending Rs 11.5 cr on poll

Demanding the resignation of Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao for his declaration of a high amount spent for winning the Sattenapalli seat, the YSR Congress said on Tuesday that the Election Commission should take up the case suo motu for a breach of the election code of conduct. ‘Kodela Siva Prasada Rao has confessed in an interview to a television channel that he has spent Rs 11.50 crores to win the Sathenapalli seat, where he could get a majority of 924 votes, and the Election code does not permit spending such a huge amount for an assembly election,’ party PAC member Ambati Rambabu told reporters in Hyderabad. There is no need for any case or investigation as the incumbent has confessed that he has spent the amount which is many times more than the stipulated sum and `we demand that he quit the post immediately on moral grounds.' `Failing which, we will write to the Election Commission to take up the case suo motu as the breach of election code has been blatant. We will also explore other options to put the record straight,' he said. As he has spent such a whopping amount, his family is in a hurry to plough back the money and is resorting to large-scale corruption in both Sattenapalli and Narsaraopet assembly constituencies. His family members have been involved in irregularities in construction of toilets and cremation grounds as well. They are also using police to settle civil disputes and his son is involved in land-grabbing, he said.