Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Sundararajan on Thursday accused the K Chandrashekar Rao-led state government of “discriminating” with her, humiliating the “highest office of the state” and “not following protocol”.
“For the last three years (in office), this state will write history as to how a woman governor was discriminated against,” Sundararajan told reporters during a function to mark the ‘beginning of the fourth year in the service of the people of Telangana’ in Raj. was.” Building.
But, he added, “That discrimination didn’t hurt this governor. I don’t demand rights because I’m a woman, we work at par with men and get our rights.”
Speaking about her three-year tenure, she said: “All I want to say is that I am not happy. Whenever I wanted to reach out to people, I had to face obstacles. There is an insult to the highest office in this state.”
Sundararajan recalled instances when he was “insulted”, saying: “I was denied the governor’s address, I was denied to fly the flag on Republic Day. Wherever I go, Protocol is not followed. Collectors do not come and greet. I am not upset, but the post of Governor should be respected.”
He also mentioned how he had to visit Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, Asia’s biggest tribal festival held in the remote district of Mulugu, by road after requesting for a helicopter from the state government, but got no clear response .
“It will be written in the history of Telangana how the office of a governor was treated and I do not want it to be written in a negative manner. But people should know what is happening,” said Soundararajan.
Reacting to the allegations, state minister Erabeli Dayakar Rao said that Sundararajan was “insulting the constitutional post of the governor”.
“Tamilisai Sundararajan is losing respect, and also maligning the constitutional post of the governor. His actions are troubling many people in the state. She is acting like a BJP worker, holding meetings with them,” Rao told media persons. Sundararajan was earlier the President of Tamil Nadu BJP.
Chief Minister KCR’s daughter K Kavitha, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLC, tweeted That “the office of the Governor of Telangana has turned into a political platform which is determined to defame the TRS government and the CM”.
During his press briefing, Sundararajan criticized the state government’s handling of the COVID pandemic, alleging low testing and poor infrastructure in government hospitals.
Asked whether he discussed his troubled relationship with the KCR government with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the governor said the matter was very minor.
“My discussions with my higher office are constructive, not controversial. I can’t take such small things to the place,” she said in response to questions from ThePrint.
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a wide crack
The rift between the governor’s office and the Telangana government was the first find out Last year when Sundararajan withdrew a resolution sent to him by the state cabinet for nomination of TRS leader P Kaushik Reddy as a member of the Legislative Council under the governor’s quota.
“I had clearly informed that some of the nominated candidates do not fit in the governor’s quota, it is a service quota,” he said on Thursday.
The cracks became more pronounced this year in two cases , KCR. With, Republic Day celebrations restricted to Raj Bhavan in view of Kovid being apart By the incident, and without the Governor’s address, a session of the Telangana Legislative Assembly is being held. according to a Times of India reportState government sources had indicated that the Governor’s address was not Mandatory As the previous session (in October 2021) was not prorogued. Sundararajan in March Express Openly express your displeasure on this issue.
When asked why the central government was not considering Telangana’s request for funds for irrigation or other projects, the governor said “the chief minister should maintain good relations” with the Center to get the work done.
He further questioned why KCR did not attend the recent Southern Zonal Council meeting, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present, to personally put forth the problems of the state.
“Recently, there was a southern regional meeting. I participated in it as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. In that meeting, 75 per cent of the issues were from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. All the chief ministers were there, then why didn’t the (Telangana) chief minister come? He asked.
“When the Union Home Minister is there to solve problems, what is your (KCR) problem? Why are you not making use of the opportunity that has been given to you?” That said, the federal relationship between the offices should remain intact and that the governor was just a catalyst in things.
“Whatever initiative the Raj Bhavan wants to take to do something for the people of the state, it is being met with hindrances. But I will not stop, I will continue with my work,” she told the media.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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