Ponala calls TDP stir on Babli a ''gimmick''

Hyderabad, Nov 8 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Major Irrigation Minister Ponala Lakshmaiah today dismissed as ''political gimmick'' the Opposition Telugu Desam Party's protest against alleged failure to stop Maharashtra from going ahead with the Babli Project across River Godavari.

Talking to mediapersons here, the Minister said the State Government had taken all necessary ''legal and political steps'' to protect the State's interests.

The case relating to the riparian row was presently being heard by the Supreme Court and at a time when a favourable verdict was in the offing, the TDP was enacting a ''drama for political survival,'' he alleged.

UNI SM GM ARB VC2001