Uttam accuses EC, police of kowtowing to TRS party

​Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) and State police of indirectly supporting the TRS party and thus negating the spirit of free and fair elections. Addressing Meet the Press organised by Hyderabad Press Club at Somajiguda Press Club, Uttam Kumar Reddy said Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar and Director General of Police Mahender Reddy clearly seemed to have been inclined towards the TRS.

Therefore, he expressed fear that the Assembly elections might not be held in a free and fair manner. He pointed out that Congress candidate Pratap Reddy, who is contesting against caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao from Gajwel constituency, was being subjected to harassment. He said every citizen of this country has a right to contest elections. However, he alleged that Pratap Reddy was being harassed at the instance of Chandrashekar Rao and he was being implicated in false cases.

The TPCC president said all democratic institutions, including the Election Commission, were being influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chandrashekar Rao. He said even media was being intimidated or lured to give publicity for TRS while keeping the reality and truth under wraps from the people. He said the Press was totally free till 2014 and neither the TDP nor the Congress governments tried to suppress its freedom. However, after Modi and Rao came to power, media was being forced to make Chandrashekar Rao’s false promises Page-one headlines.

He said the Chief Minister had created an illusion and he had been forcing media to report it like a reality. Citing instances, he said about three years ago, the TRS chief had created hype on cleaning of Hussainsagar. He said images were published in the media showing Hussainsagar as a clean lake with huge towers around it. Similarly, an imaginary picture of Ravindra Bharathi was circulated. Likewise, sketches of new Secretariat and other buildings were widely published in the media making people to believe that all those things were either real or would soon be a reality. However, he said not a single sketch which was released by the TRS government turned into a reality during the last four-and-a-half years.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said Chandrashekar Rao and his son K T Rama Rao had pushed the people into a dreamworld by making promises of double bedroom houses and other developments and silently looted the entire State. Unfortunately, he said media played a major role, willingly or unwillingly. He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had released a report predicting that Telangana would be a debt-ridden State on a permanent basis. However, he said the mainstream media had suppressed the news from the people.

He said the People's Front government, after it assumed power, would ensure housing plots to all journalists and steps would be taken to provide education, health and other benefits to the journalists and their families. He also promised that the Hyderabad Press Club would be transformed into the best Press Club in India.

Congress assures Rs 24K crore for Minorities’ welfare
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress-led People's Front, after coming to power, would allocate a budget of Rs 24,000 crore for the welfare of minorities through a Sub-Plan. He was addressing Meet the Press programme jointly organised by Telangana Urdu Working Journalist Federation (TUWJF) and Indian News Network (INN).

The TPCC chief said the Congress party, if voted to power, would introduce a Sub-Plan for minorities wherein 12 per cent of State budget would be allocated for their welfare. Therefore, in the Telangana's budget of Rs 2 lakh crore, about Rs 24,000 crore would be earmarked for minorities welfare in the Sub-Plan. He also promised that all recommendations of Sachar Committee and Sudhir Commission would be implemented. He said Wakf Board would be given judicial powers and steps would be taken to tackle unemployment among minorities youth. He said Metro Rail in the Old City would become a reality after Congress comes to power.