21-07-2025
CPM alleges ‘massive' scam
Vijayawada: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPM – on Sunday staged a vigorous protest and dharna in Vijayawada, accusing the state's coalition government of a massive scam in the alleged gifting of valuable public land to the Lulu Group. The protest specifically targeted the reported move to hand over the old APSRTC bus stand land in Vijayawada to the large corporate entity.
CPM leaders Ch Babu Rao and D Kasi Nath, along with other party members, participated in the agitation, raising slogans against what they termed a 'conspiracy' to privatise RTC and undermine small and medium-scale traders in favour of big corporations.
The core of the protest revolves around the alleged allocation of five acres of the old RTC bus stand land, valued at Rs 400 crore, to Lulu Mall.
Addressing the gathering, Babu Rao and Kasi Nath sharply criticised the government's actions. 'Betraying the people of Andhra and pledging their lands and public assets to foreign companies is an act of treachery,' they stated.
They dismissed the claim that Lulu Mall would create hundreds of jobs, arguing it was 'inhumane' to destroy the livelihoods of thousands of small traders in the process.
The CPM also raised concerns about the alleged gifting of a Rs 25 crore municipal land in Brindavan Colony to the Raghavendra Math, stating that 'Vijayawada is gradually being put up for sale.' They questioned if 'wealth creation' meant handing over government and public wealth to foreign corporations.
They deemed it illegal for the government to forcefully acquire public land for metro and other public transport systems in Vijayawada, while simultaneously giving away RTC lands at 'dirt-cheap prices' to multinational corporations.
They urged the public to mobilise for the protection of public assets and called on the government to reconsider and withdraw its proposals to allocate land to the Lulu Group.
CPM leaders Boyi Satyababu, B Ramana Rao, P Krishna, K Durga Rao, and EV Narayana were present.
