Hans news service Khammam

TheBJP staged a mahadharna in Khammam on Thursday demanding the removal of privately held lands allegedly included in the 22A prohibited properties list and sought the resignation of Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy over the issue.

Addressing the protest near the Collectorate, BJP Khammam district president Nelluri Koteswara Rao said farmers and poor and middle-class families had been facing difficulties as they were unable to sell or register lands they had been possessing for decades.

“BJP will not step back from resolving public issues. If necessary, we will intensify the agitation and ensure that lands wrongly included in the 22A list are removed,” he said. He alleged that discrepancies existed between land records and the prohibited properties list, resulting in landowners being unable to use their property for pressing financial needs, including children’s education and marriages, medical treatment, and agricultural investments.

Rao alleged that the Congress government had failed to resolve the issue despite promising to correct mistakes of previous governments. He particularly criticised Srinivas Reddy, who oversees the Revenue portfolio, and demanded that the minister resign if he could not address the grievances of affected landowners. A large number of BJP leaders, workers, farmers and alleged 22A-affected landowners from different parts of the district participated in the protest and raised slogans demanding relief. A memorandum was subsequently submitted to the district Collector.

The 22A issue has also emerged as a contentious political issue across Telangana. BJP MLAs had raised the matter during the ongoing Assembly session, demanding a judicial inquiry, while the BRS has sought a probe and a white paper on the prohibited land list.

The government, however, has maintained that mistakes in the 22A list would be rectified. Ponguleti has directed officials not to reject registration applications merely because a property figures in the 22A list and asked them to examine individual cases comprehensively and provide relief to eligible applicants.

The minister had also acknowledged that some lands may have been included in the prohibited list inadvertently and said such errors would be corrected.

Meanwhile, the Telangana High Court has also examined disputes concerning inclusion of private lands in the 22A list in various cases, highlighting the importance of following due legal procedure while restricting transactions involving privately held properties.

BJP leaders said the party would continue its agitation until genuine landowners affected by the 22A restrictions received relief.

Among those who participated in the protest were former Kisan Morcha president and Warangal in-charge Kondapalli Sridhar Reddy, Nalgonda in-charge Sanne Uday Pratap, former district president and state executive member Galla Satyanarayana, state spokespersons Namburi Ramalingeswara Rao and Vakadani Pullarao Yadav, and several district and state-level leaders and partyworkers.

Nelluri Koteswara Rao alleged that the Congress government had failed to resolve the issue despite promising to correct mistakes of previous governments