Vastu-loving KCR ignored Ramappa, demolishing heritage sites: Revanth Reddy

MULUGU: On the second day of his ‘Haath Se Haath Se Jodo’ yatra,  TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday alleged that BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, a strong believer in astrology and Vaastu, was not focusing on public issues but on demolishing heritage landmarks, including Nizam-era buildings in the old Secretariat complex, following the advice of his advisers.

Before beginning the padayatra on the second day in Palampet village of Mulugu district on Tuesday, he examined the area around the well-known Ramappa temple, which was recognised by Unesco as a World Heritage site, as well as other temples in nearby areas.

During a press conference, Revanth Reddy described the Ramappa temple as a magnificent work of art created by Recharla during the Kakatiya period. According to him, Rao, who had sanctioned funds for the development of several temples, had shown little interest in developing the Ramappa temple.

After praying at the Sri Rudreshwara Swamy temple in Ramappa with Mulugu MLA Seethakka, Revanth Reddy criticised the state's archaeological department for being a showpiece, while the CM has ordered the indiscriminate demolition of several historic buildings in the old Secretariat complex.

The state government should release sufficient funds to safeguard the structures and provide adequate protection to the historic sites if it was seriously interested in preserving and restoring them. He claimed that because Rao was not fulfilling the expectations of the people, Congress had embarked on the Haath Se Haath Jodo padayatra in order to comprehend their issues and create a platform for the Assembly elections.

The Congress government had launched various welfare programmes that guided Telangana towards development during its 10-year reign from 2004 to 2014, while the Chandrashekar Rao government had brought in debt of Rs 5 lakh crores while doing nothing for any constituency during its nine-year rule. By enacting the Forest Rights Act in 2006, the Congress had the government given 10 lakh acres of podu land to the Adivasi, Lambadi and Girijan communities, but now the BRS government was grabbing the lands from them, he said.

Revanth Reddy asserted that the Aarogyasri scheme and fee reimbursement programmes were not adequately implemented by the BRS government, while Chandrashekar Rao and his family were preoccupied with acquiring hundreds of acres of land in prime areas of Hyderabad. Because the BRS government had done nothing for the people, it was essential to remove Rao from his post and bring the Congress to power for a better Telangana, he remarked.  He interacted with the chilli farmers in Narsapuram village and assured them that they would receive the maximum support price if Congress is voted to power.

On national issues, he said the country’s security was in peril. He claimed that Chinese forces had entered 200 kilometres into India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not prevented China and was interested only in elections. He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken up Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to inculcate patriotism among the people in the country.