HYDERABAD:A day after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao took two key decisions -- shifting of state Secretariat and scrapping of FAST scheme -- in the cabinet meeting, the opposition parties on Saturday launched a vitriolic attack on him over the two issues.
Congress deputy CLP leader in the state Council Mohd Ali Shabbir and MLA Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the move is an attempt to execute the plans of land mafia to take control of prime properties in the state capital.
Ridiculing Rao’s contention that the ‘Vaasthu’ of the Secretariat was not proper, Shabbir Ali pointed out that as many as 16 chief ministers operated from the same Secretariat and a few of them like Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, Chandrababu Naidu and YS Rajasekhara Reddy served for longer periods. “None of them complained about Vaasthu. Instead of making some required changes in his office, KCR wants to shift the entire Secretariat,’’ he alleged. Bhatti Vikramarka, on the other hand, alleged that Rao was treating Telangana state as his ‘personal estate.’
He alleged that Rao is being haunted with the memories of how he, along with N Chandrababu Naidu, dethroned former chief minister late NT Rama Rao in the same Secretariat.
“Chandrasekhar Rao is probably visualising that he would meet the same fate, if he functions from the present Secretariat,’’ he said. Further, the Congress leaders said they would take up the issue in the Assembly and also launch a massive agitation against the decisions taken by the State Cabinet.
BJP Telangana state president G Kishan Reddy too vented his ire on the decision. “The building of a new Secretariat would cost `500-600 crore which is unnecessary. The CM did similar mistakes while choosing his official residence. He made several changes to minister’s quarters at Kundanbagh and other places in the name of ‘Vaasthu’ which ended up in an expenditure of several lakhs,” Kishan Reddy said.
He wondered as to how Rao can fault the ‘Vaasthu’ of Secretariat when it is the same building from which the CEO Bhanwar Lal worked for the elections in which the TRS emerged victorious. “Is that not a good omen for you?’’ Kishan Reddy questioned.
He alleged that after the sacking of former deputy CM T Rajaiah, all the ministers in Rao’s cabinet are fearing a similar fate to them and are remaining a mute silent to the proposal put up by KCR. TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy too criticised the CM for his move. “More than 50,000 patients gets treated at the hospital every year. Shifting of the same to another place will cause severe hardships to the poor patients,’’ he said.
Welcoming the scrapping of FAST scheme, all the political parties said KCR should at least now think twice before taking crucial decisions.