Debate challenges heighten political tension in Hyd

Tension prevailed at BRS headquarters Telangana Bhavan here on Thursday as police detained former minister T. Harish Rao and other BRS leaders as they were heading to Gun Park for a debate with state ministers on the alleged irregularities in Gurukul residential school tenders.

There was high political drama in Hyderabad as three ministers reached the Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial (Gun Park) for a debate with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders.

However, police detained former ministers Harish Rao and V. Srinivas Goud, BRS general secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar and other leaders as they were leaving for Gun Park from Telangana Bhavan.

The challenges and counter-challenges by the leaders of ruling Congress and main Opposition BRS for a debate on Telangana’s debt burden and the alleged irregularities in Gurukul residential school tenders had heightened the political tension since Thursday morning.

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao had also reached Telangana Bhavan and waited for excise and tourism minister Jupally Krishna Rao, who had dared the BRS leader for a debate on the state’s debt burden.

However, Krishna Rao told media on Thursday morning that he was ready for a debate at Gun Park. After attending a programme at Congress headquarters Gandhi Bhavan, the minister reached Gun Park and spoke to media persons.

Krishna Rao said that he was ready for a debate on the debts taken during the BRS regime. He claimed that the BRS government increased the state’s debts by Rs.7.3 crore during its 10-year rule.

The BRS leaders, on the other hand, slammed the leaders for running away from the debate by using police to detain them even as they had accepted their challenge for debate and were heading for Gun Park.

Rama Rao told the media at Telangana Bhavan that this was not the first time that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy ran away from debate. He recalled that earlier he had reached Press Club for debate with the Chief Minister on farmers’ issues but he failed to turn up.

He said the Chief Minister once again threw a challenge for a debate and when the BRS accepted the challenge, its leaders were arrested by the police.

Harish Rao said they were stopped by police when they were going for the debate with all the evidences. He claimed this as a proof that the government was indulging in corruption.

He wanted to know why the leaders were running away from debate after throwing a challenge. He said he rang three ministers but none of them responded.

Harish Rao, who is the deputy leader of BRS in state Assembly, said if the state government was sincere, it should convene an Assembly session for a debate.

Large number of police personnel were deployed around Telangana Bhavan, Gun Park and other locations as hundreds of Congress and BRS workers had gathered, raising fears of a confrontation.

Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Adluri Laxman Kumar and Mohammed Azharuddin reached Gun Park for debate with the BRS leaders over allegations of irregularities in residential school tenders. They claimed that the BRS leaders did not turn up as they feared defeat.

The ministers said they were challenging BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to come to Assembly for a debate on all issues.

KTR had on Wednesday challenged Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for an open public debate on what he called the government's administrative failures, the plight of farmers, the ongoing agrarian crisis, and the overall governance of the state.

He said he was prepared to participate in a debate anywhere in Telangana, at any time.

BRS leader declared that if he failed to expose the failures of the Congress government with facts and evidence, he would resign on the spot and permanently retire from politics.