Congress lists Telangana bureaucrats 'aiding' BRS govt, calls ECI to halt cash schemes amid polls

Hyderabad: The Telangana Congress party leaders have filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI), raising a plethora of issues such as public cash benefits promised by the ruling BRS government, and the alleged favouritism shown by the IAS, IPS and retired bureaucrats towards the state government in Telangana for the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled for November 30.

In a press conference in Delhi, senior Telangana Congress leaders Uttam Kumar Reddy, Revanth Reddy, Bhatti Vikramarka, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Balram Naik alleged that the BRS, the Bharatiya Janata Party and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen are working together to defeat the Congress. These leaders met the ECI team on Wednesday evening.

Cash benefits from schemes

The Congress leaders complained that the cash benefits declared by the BRS government in the form of Rythu Bandhu benefits to the farmers, promised benefits to Dalits, Muslims and housing benefits must be given before November 2.

“All the cash transfers for welfare schemes to the beneficiaries must be done before the notification. The BRS government is repeatedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and prompting us to file a complaint with the Election Commission of India,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

Misuse of government buildings

They raised concerns about the misuse of official spaces like Pragati Bhavan, the residence of the chief minister, and the offices of the members of the Legislative Assembly for the party activities. Reddy said, “The government buildings have been built with public money for public use. Instead, they have become BRS party’s election offices which is not right.”

Complaints against IAS, IPS and retired officials

The Telangana Congress party leaders came down heavily on bureaucrats, senior police officials and retired bureaucrats who they alleged are working for the BRS party.

Naming the bureaucrats, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Revanth Reddy said, “The IAS and IPS officers in Telangana have become the private army of BRS. They are partisan and working for the BRS government. The list of names, which we have given to the ECI, include Jayesh Ranjan, Arvind Kumar, Smita Sabarwal, Rajshekar Reddy (OSD) and the director general of police Anjani Kumar.”

“How is Anjani Kumar in Telangana when he belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre? The retired officials who are helping the BRS government are Prabhakar Rao, Venugopal Rao, Narsing Rao, Radhakishan Rao, Jaganmohan Rao, Bhujang Rao, D Praneeth Rao, Somesh Kumar and others. They are in touch with businessmen from whom they are taking election funds,” Revanth Reddy alleged.

After apprising the ECI on the alleged favouritism displayed by the officials, who he claimed were aligned with BRS party for the past nine years, Revanth Reddy said, “These retired officials must be removed from service as they are operating like a private army for the BRS party.”

Medigadda barrage

The sinking pillars of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Project are a cause for concern, said Uttam Kumar Reddy. “Dams are made for 100 years. How can the pillars sink already? They have resorted to all kinds of attention diversion tactics by mentioning shifting sand and other technical errors. But how any of it is possible? Kaleshwaram is the costliest project built with Rs 1 lakh crores. Where is that quality of construction being reflected in the execution?”

Alleging that the Medigadda issue reveals a lack of adequate soil testing and technical adherence during construction, Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “Why is the BRS government reluctant to take action against the contractors? This suggests corruption within the project and there is a need to look into it. We have urged the Central government multiple times that they must look into the finances of this project.”

Dam safety officials have visited the barrage after the damage but there is no report yet, which suggests a political nexus between BJP and BRS, said Reddy.

BRS-BJP-AIMIM

“Amit and Asad can’t do without each other. They together are the double engine,” said Revanth Reddy, claiming that the BRS, the BJP and the AIMIM are working together behind the curtain to defeat the Congress in Telangana.

When asked whether the Congress party would align with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM after the elections, Reddy said, “What will Amit Shah do without Asaduddin Owaisi? The BJP, BRS and AIMIM have already decided the seat sharing for Lok Sabha elections. The BJP will fight for seven seats, BRS for eight seats and the AIMIM for one. This plan is already in place, similar to what was seen in Karnataka between JDS and BJP. The same will follow in Telangana after the Assembly elections. They are all one gang.”