Ex-MP Geetha Doesn't Belong to ST: Government

Visakhapatnam: The state government issued a G.O No. 2 stating that Kothapally Geetha, the former MP of the ST-reserved Araku constituency does not belong to the Scheduled Tribe.

Geetha was elected to Lok Sabha from Araku parliamentary constituency on a YSRC ticket in 2014. Following petitions challenging that she does not belong to the ST community, the then collector of East Godavari issued a certificate that she belonged to the Valmiki tribe.

Andhra Pradesh SC, ST Employees president E. Anjaneyulu and R. Maheswara Rao appealed to the government challenging the collector’s order. Four ministers in the TD and YSRC governments made enquiries but it never came to a logical end.

Challenging the inquiry process, Geetha filed a petition in the High Court, which, in turn, in April 2023, asked the state government to complete the inquiry in four months.

The inquiry headed by deputy chief minister Peedika Rajanna Dora was completed and the government issued a GO No 2 on January 4 this year through the tribal welfare department that Geetha does not belong to the ST community, quashing the East Godavari collector’s orders.

It may be recalled that the CBI arrested Kothapalli Geetha and her husband in connection with a case of a '42 crore loan default involving the Punjab National Bank. Later, the CBI spec