HYDERABAD: Welcoming the Telangana High Court’s direction on the removal of AV Ranganath as HYDRAA commissioner, BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar on Monday said that the order was like a slap in the face of the state government.
The former IPS officer also said that if voted to power, BRS would scrutinise all the files related to HYDRAA and take action against erring officials. He recalled that BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao had already announced that HYDRAA would be abolished the day the pink party returns to power.
Praveen alleged that the Revanth Reddy government established HYDRAA through GO 99 within a month of assuming office only to target the houses of the poor. After that, the atrocities committed by HYDRAA are countless, he added.
Stating that 63 contempt of court cases were pending against the HYDRAA commissioner, he said that it reflects the “government’s cruelty”. “Just as Hitler sought to exterminate the Jews, Revanth Reddy was using HYDRAA to demolish the houses of the poor,” he said.
Praveen further alleged that the HYDRAA committed excesses in Lothkunta, Bahadurguda and Ameenpur and pointed out that the agency functions under the Municipal Administration department, a portfolio held by Revanth Reddy. Thus, the Chief Minister had no moral right to continue in the office, he added.
Terming the Congress dispensation as a “government of demolitions”, he questioned the selective approach of the HYDRAA. “Is there one law for the poor and another for Revanth Reddy’s brother Tirupati Reddy?” he asked.
“When the high court says that the Army should be brought in to restrain HYDRAA, one wonders if governance even exists in the state,” he said. Stating that the BRS has been fighting against HYDRAA’s “excesses” from the very beginning, he said that even if Ranganath is replaced by another officer, HYDRAA’s functioning would not change unless Revanth Reddy changes his approach.