Leader of Opposition in the Telangana State Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir questioned the silence of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao over the criticism of TJAC chairman M Kodandaram by his partymen and cabinet colleagues.
Addressing a press conference at the CLP office on Thursday, Shabbir Ali said that Kodandaram had only repeated what the Congress party had been saying in and outside the Assembly and Council about the various failures of the State government.
"However, almost half-a-dozen ministers and other leaders attacked Kodandaram with the worst language that could be used against a senior citizen, especially the one who played an active role in the Telangana movement. Some ministers even questioned the very legitimacy of Kodandaram and the TPJAC," he said.
Shabbir Ali played an old video-clip wherein KCR reacted very sharply to the comments made by the then AP minister T G Venkatesh against Kodandaram. Stating that Kodandaram was the representative of the four crore people of Telangana, KCR had threatened to cut the tongues of anyone who criticised the TJAC chief. He had even threatened to "bury those who criticised" Kodandaram.
"Does KCR still maintain the same stand? Will KCR cut the tongues of his ministers and leaders who criticised Kodandaram and will he bury the critics?" he asked.
The Congress leader said that the Chief Minister should either designate a place to execute the punishments, as in some Gulf countries, or stop giving such provocative statements.
He said that there was nothing sensational in Kodandaram raising the issues. The Congress party had been exposing the failures of the TRS government right since the beginning, and it was a welcome sign that the TJAC, too, had started speaking about the TRS government's failures.
Shabbir Ali welcomed the roadmap announced by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for the formation of new districts in the State.