HYDERABAD: IT & Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu on Friday rejected BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s claim that Congress government was conspiring to arrest him in the Lagcherla incident.
Addressing a press conference, along with Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, he said that former BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy confirmed, on video, Rama Rao’s involvement in the case.
Stating that Rama Rao was trying to gain sympathy by claiming that he will be arrested, Sridhar Babu said that they have also verified the veracity of the video to ascertain if the video was created using AI and found out that it was not doctored.
He said that a top police officer was overseeing the ongoing investigation and all the facts will be out soon.
While stating that the government was open to dialogue with the farmers, he asked the opposition parties if it is right to attack a district collector and other officials.
‘Attackers not farmers’
The minister said that those who attacked the government officials were not farmers. The efforts to establish industries will continue, Sridhar Babu added.
Alleging that BRS and BJP were conspiring together to destabilise the government, he said that the pink party encouraged violence in the the CM’s constituency.
He also answered opposition parties’ demands of the Chief Minister conducting a public hearing.
Responding to opposition parties demand that the CM hold a public demand, he said: “Never in the 70-year history of Independent India, ministers or chief minister held public hearings. It is RDOs or sub-collector/collector rank officers who conduct the public hearings.”
“The forums are open to meet the ministers and chief minister,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nageswara Rao said that the BRS and BJP leaders were shedding crocodile tears over paddy procurement. He said that the state government will pay Rs 500 bonus per quintal of superfine variety of paddy within a week.