HYDERABAD: TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Saturday expressed concern over what he described as baseless and motivated news reports targeting ministers, and urged the media to exercise restraint and responsibility.
Speaking at Gandhi Bhavan, Mahesh said ministers had complained about the circulation of false stories against them. “If ministers commit mistakes, the media has every right to report on them. However, intruding into their personal lives and indulging in mudslinging is unacceptable,” he said.
He described discussions around the private lives of individuals as disturbing and said many reports were far removed from facts. “No one reaches the position of a minister without years of hard work. I appeal to the media to refrain from publishing unverified stories,” he added.
On local body elections, Mahesh said the Congress would decide its candidate for the Nizamabad local authorities by-election. Expressing confidence, he said the party would win a majority of seats in the upcoming municipal elections, predicting victory in nearly 90% of the wards. He noted that the Congress had already won 70% of the seats in the panchayat elections and emerged victorious in the Cantonment and Jubilee Hills byelections.
Turning to national politics, the TPCC chief criticised the BJP, accusing it of invoking religion for electoral gains. “Does Lord Rama hold a BJP membership? What right does the BJP have to appropriate his name? Dragging God into politics and using faith to seek votes is wrong,” he said.