Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Tuesday said that the state government showcased the Telangana culture and traditions to the world without spending huge amounts of money.

The Minister said that out of the Rs 31 crore spent by the government, Rs 21 crore came back from sponsors and the remaining Rs 10 crore was also committed by the sponsors and said if this money was received, the government will be spending next to nothing. He said that the government attracted the entire world by hosting the beauty pageant without spending a single rupee.

The Minister alleged that the BRS leaders lied that the government spent Rs 200 crore. He also took exception to the criticism that contestants’ feet were washed by local women. He clarified that while 32 out of 33 contestants washed their own feet, one of them was doing nothing, hence a local tribal woman helped the contestant in washing the feet. Referring to an old incident, Jupally questioned whether the IAS officer Venkatram Reddy was asked to wash the feet of former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. He challenged Harish Rao for an open debate at Telangana Bhavan or Abids and prove that the government spent Rs 200 crore on beauty pageant. He also clarified that the dinner in Chowmahalla Palace was Rs 8,250 per plate.

The Minister said that the expenditure was Rs 31 crore including Rs 5 crore for license fee, Rs 25 crore for organising expenses. The funds provided by the sponsors include – Rs 5 crore by MEIL, Rs 5 crore by Auro Reality, Rs 3 crore each by MSN and Honer Homes, Rs 2 crore by Cybercity, Rs 3 crore by Salarpuria, amounting to Rs 21 crore.

Stating that all steps were taken by the government was to promote Telangana tourism, Jupally said that the previous government spent Rs 115 crore on tourism promotion during its 10-year tenure. “The BRS government spent Rs 27.84 crore alone in 2016-17. How many jobs were provided and how much employment was generated with this much spending,” he asked.

Referring to the allegations that CM Revanth Reddy did not visit the fire accident spot at Gulzar Houz, Krishna Rao said that the CM sent three ministers to the spot immediately. He also asked why KCR did not go to Kondagattu when 70 persons died in the accident.

The Minister said that the government did not form any inquiry committee on Miss England Milla Magee’s allegations.