Known for his controversial comments and loud-mouth nature, YSR Congress party leader and state civil supplies minister Kodali Venkateshwara Rao alias Nani once again got into news for wrong reasons for defending gambling in his Gudivada constituency.
On Monday, Nani was summoned to the chief minister’s camp office at Tadepalli and reportedly given a dressing down by chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy following reports of special enforcement agency authorities raiding a series of gambling dens in Gudivada and confiscated huge cash, apart from arresting several people.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the chief minister, Nani continued to make controversial comments.
When it was pointed out that the arrested included his close followers, Nani shot back at the media saying: “What will happen to them? They are not going to be hanged to death. At the most, they will be fined and let off.”
He said his followers would pay the fine and continue the gambling activity.
“That is why they play cards so openly and fearlessly. They pay fine and come back to the clubs,” Nani said.
On the reports that his own brother was running unauthorised clubs, the minister said: “May be, my brother is also there in the gambling. So what? Will he be hanged? He will pay Rs 50 or Rs 100 as penalty and return to play cards again. Just for the sake of it, should I come running to the chief minister to get him released?”
Nani said it was routine for the police to conduct raids here and there and catch people now and then.
“The opposition parties have no other business but to sling mud on me,” he criticised.
He said he had come to meet the chief minister on constituency works.
“I was elected four times as an MLA. I met CM for some road works,” he said.
