TPCC shoots down bid to kick up row over statues of Rosaiah, SPB

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said that former Chief Minister late K. Rosaiah and legendary singer late S. P. Balasubrahmanyam are national assets and cannot be confined to any particular region. “What is wrong in installing Balasubrahmanyam’s statue at Ravindra Bharathi?” he asked.

Speaking to the media on Thursday at Gandhi Bhavan, Mahesh Kumar Goud said it was unfair to politicise the issue of Balasubrahmanyam in the name of caste and religion. He said Balasubrahmanyam was a singer the entire nation is proud of, and it was inappropriate to attribute caste or religion to artists and writers. The controversy, he said, was being unnecessarily magnified. Rosaiah and Balasubrahmanyam were both Telugu icons, he added.

“Let us stand together as brothers and sisters, even if Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are geographically separated. Opposition parties are spreading false propaganda to divert attention from the celebrations marking two years of Praja Palana. The Congress government will come to power in Telangana again,” he said.

Responding to the BJP’s criticism of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s recent remarks on gods, the TPCC chief said the CM had merely spoken in a proverbial sense. He alleged that the BJP survives only on caste and religious politics. “People are tired of such politics. Why isn’t the BJP talking about development?” he questioned.

Mahesh Kumar Goud said it was atrocious for BRS leaders to criticise the HILT policy. “Delhi is heavily polluted. We have introduced the HILT policy to ensure that such a situation does not arise in Hyderabad. BRS leaders looted Telangana for 10 years. Why didn’t the BJP speak up then? The HILT policy will reduce pollution and prevent the National Capital Region-like crisis here. The intention behind HILT is to ensure Hyderabad becomes a global, pollution-free city,” he said.

He added that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is committed to making Hyderabad a green city through forward-looking governance. He questioned why Union Minister Kishan Reddy remained silent when lands surrounding the Inner and Outer Ring Roads were handed over to private entities during the previous government. He claimed that Kishan Reddy’s comments made it clear that the BJP and BRS were aligned.

Accusing the previous BRS government of large-scale exploitation, he said the HILT policy is aimed at public convenience and creating space for both residential and industrial development.