BRS leader T. Harish Rao speaking to newspersons in Hyderabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has accused the government of enacting a drama in the name of HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency) to serve the dual purpose of diverting people’s attention from key issues being faced by them and to coerce BRS legislators join the ruling party.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday along with party MLAs Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and Padi Kaushik Reddy, leaders Peddi Sudershan Reddy and Gattu Ramachandra Rao, former minister T. Harish Rao alleged the farmers’ issues like the crop loan waiver were also being diverted focussing on HYDRAA. He said the State government was not bothered though people were suffering due to the spread of seasonal diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and viral fever.
Mr. Harish Rao said that the government had booked six cases against party MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, including a poll-related case against him and now a case of encroachment by his educational institutions though the former had secured all approvals including no-objection certificate from the irrigation and revenue departments. He claimed the premises of his colleges at Korremul in Ghatkesar mandal did not fall either in full tank level (FTL) or buffer zone (‘shikam’) limits of Nadam Cheruvu, a minor irrigation tank, there.
The modus operandi being implemented against most BRS MLAs was the same, he said. Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy was slapped with a fine of ₹300 crore in a mining case and once he joined the Congress party, the case was pushed to cold storage. The ruling party was trying to repeat the same tactics in case of Mr.Rajeshwar Reddy too, Mr. Harish Rao alleged.
The victimisation of Mr. Rajeshwar Reddy was such that 480 existing seats in his engineering colleges were cut while they were increased in other colleges. The ruling party did the same with other BRS MLAs Marri Rajasekhar Reddy, Chamakura Malla Reddy and his brother.
Demands white paper
Mr. Harish Rao also demanded that the State government publish a white paper on the implementation of crop loan waiver and State finances with details of how much the government was sparing every month for debt servicing as Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka was alleging that the government had been spending more on repaying loans borrowed by the previous regime than on salaries being paid to the employees.
He claimed that debt was ₹4,26,499 crore at the time of BRS demitting office but the Congress government in eight months in office had borrowed nearly ₹65,000, including ₹42,118 crore under FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management). If the borrowings continued in the same measure, there would be an additional ₹4,87,500 crore debt on the State.
