HYDERABAD: The Telangana Secretariat, which had been buzzing with visitors after the Congress came to power in the state, has seen a sudden lull in activity.
After A Revanth Reddy took charge as chief minister, he made the decision to allow the general public to enter the Secretariat at fixed times. This was a far cry from the days of the BRS regime, where sometimes even Opposition legislators were stopped from entering the seat of administration.
After Revanth’s decision, the Secretariat witnessed visitors from across the state arriving to meet ministers and officials and bringing to their notice various issues and problems facing them. However, on March 16, the Central Election Commission released the schedule for the General Elections, and none of the ministers, including the chief minister, are coming to the Secretariat. As a result, the number of visitors has dropped significantly.
The chief minister, who is also the TPCC president, has decided to stay away from the Secretariat given the election code. Likewise, most of the ministers are not coming to the Secretariat due to election-related work. The ministers are busy campaigning for elections in their respective districts and are monitoring the day-to-day government and administration affairs from their homes.
With the chief minister and ministers not being available, the general public is not seen in the Secretariat. Generally, visitors are allowed inside the Secretariat from 3 pm to 5 pm. However, this provision does not apply to MLAs, MPs and other leaders who come to meet ministers. If someone has special permission to meet a particular minister during normal hours, security personnel verify this with the minister’s peshi and allow the visitor inside.
Meanwhile, from 3 pm to 5 pm, the general public can meet officials as usual. However, there are very few visitors as they feel that little work is being done in the Secretariat due to the limitations of the election code.
Busy campaigning
The ministers are busy campaigning for elections in their respective districts and are monitoring the day-to-day government and administration affairs from their homes. With the chief minister and ministers not being available, the general public is not seen in the Secretariat.