HYDERABAD
Working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K.T. Rama Rao has urged the AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to ensure that their party government in Telangana does not become another ‘bulldozer raj’ and reminded him how the Congress had opposed such a demolition spree taken up by the BJP’s Yogi Aditynath government in Uttar Pradesh.
Expressing concern over the actions of the Congress government in Telangana accusing it of violating the law and rendering the poor homeless by demolishing their homes without due legal process, Mr. Rama Rao reminded Mr. Kharge of his own statements, wherein he had condemned the demolition of homes and rendering families homeless in other States as ‘inhumane and unjust’.
In a statement, the BRS leader asked on Friday whether Mr. Kharge would support the Telangana government’s actions of demolishing the homes of the poor. He termed it as an atrocity on the poor.
Mr. Rama Rao brought to Mr. Kharge’s attention the demolition of 75 homes belonging to the poor in Mahabubnagar town, which took place at 3 a.m. on Friday without any prior notices. He highlighted that out of the 75 destitute families, 25 were physically disabled. He pointed out that enforcing law without the due process was not law but a modern-day civilisational abomination.
He questioned the Congress leadership, asking how it could justify demolishing the homes of poor families as many of them had been residing there for the last 20 to 40 years. He requested Mr. Kharge to advise the Congress government in Telangana not to let the State become another ‘bulldozer raj’.
Meanwhile, in an open letter addressed to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and the Commissioner of HYDRAA, BRS leader Dasoju Sravan has requested the former not to emulate the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister by taking to ‘bulldozer raj’ on the pretext of protection of lakes and appealed for transparent and sustainable policies aligned with the constitutional provisions.
Stating that lakes were a vital lifeline for Telangana and their protection was crucial for the well-being of environment and future generations, Mr. Sravan said lakes in Hyderabad, known as the City of Lakes, shrunk by 61% over the last seven decades under the regime of Andhra rulers as deliberate encroachments were allowed by crony capitalists, selfish politicians, real estate brokers and the land mafia.
The issue extends beyond Hyderabad as thousands of water bodies across Telangana were encroached upon posing a serious threat to the flora, fauna and the overall ecological balance. The establishment of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring Agency (HYDRAA) was a positive step, but concerns were growing as it was being used for ‘political theatrics and pseudo-heroism’ rather than genuine conservation efforts, he noted.
