Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir has strongly condemned the District Collectors of Kamareddy and Siddipet who touched the feet of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao during his visit to the inauguration of collector’s complexes.
] “It is a matter of great shame that Kamareddy Collector A. Sharat and Siddipet Collector P Venkatrama Reddy have touched the feet of CM KCR in full public view. They are not only IAS officers but also District Magistrates. They have sent a wrong message and set a wrong precedent by bowing down before the Chief Minister, who is a political functionary. The Congress party will lodge a formal complaint against their behavior and seek action. We will also refer the matter to the Governor and also the President of India as both of them have insulted the Constitution,” Shabbir Ali said while addressing a press conference at Kamareddy on Monday.
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Shabbir said that the District Collectors also defended their action of touching CM KCR’s feet and claimed that they did as a mark of respect. Ridiculing their justification, he said that the District Collectors have apparently forgotten that as per the Constitution, a Collector is the chief officer of the revenue administration and is responsible for the collection of land revenue, and is also the highest revenue judicial authority in the district. Further, as the District Magistrate, he is responsible for law and order and heads the police and prosecuting agency. “By touching CM KCR’s feet, who is also the president of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), both the Collectors insulted the Constitution and behaved like political functionaries,” he said.
He also alleged that some IAS officers who are trying to please CM KCR were involved in corruption, land grabbing and other activities.
The Congress leader also alleged that CM KCR has turned the event of inauguration of district complexes of Siddipet and Kamareddy as a TRS function. “The Chief Minister did not meet common people, farmers, students, traders, or any other person except a few TRS leaders. All functionaries of opposition parties like Congress and BJP were either arrested or placed under house arrest. In Kamareddy, even media personnel were locked in a room and were asked to take the news feed provided by the officials. Even the elected representatives like Councillors or Zilla Parishad members of opposition parties were not permitted to attend the event,” he said while accusing CM KCR of smothering the democracy. He asked CM KCR to clarify whether he was the Chief Minister for the entire population of Telangana State or just TRS members.
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Shabbir said that many sections of the society were planning to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking redressal of their grievances. However, the local police and administration ensured that all such people are taken into preventive custody before the CM’s arrival. “This is nothing but the worst form of dictatorship,” he alleged.
In the 2018 elections, the Chief Minister had promised a medical college for Kamareddy. However, this promise remained unfulfilled. He said that the Chief Minister also neglected Kamareddy by not sanctioning Rs. 200 Crore to bring Godavari River water to the district. He also shifted the Veterinary College to Nizamabad. He said promised 2BHK houses were not provided to journalists. He said none of the promises made with the people of Kamareddy were fulfilled by the TRS Government.
Shabbir Ali said that the Congress would expose the failures of TRS Govt, especially the deliberate neglect of Kamareddy by the Chief Minister.
SOURCE-IANS
