City TDP, BJP MLAs Complain Over Protocol Issue

Greater Hyderabad TDP and BJP MLAs today met Telangana Chief Secretary Dr Rajiv Sharma and lodged a complaint about repeated violation of protocol by the ministers hailing from the area.

Speaking to the media, TDP MLA Gopinath said that though Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy was in charge of the Hyderabad district, another minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav was visiting the areas and inaugurating various government programmes without involving the local TDP and BJP MLAs.

Gopinath alleged that the city MLAs were not being taken into confidence and no importance was being given to them.

"Though the Telangana government issued Memo No. 240/Poll.A/2015-1 dated April 27, 2015, and the Union government's Memo No. 11013/4/2011 Estt dated November 19, 2014, on the protocol issue, the officials of the Telangana government were violating the protocol norms repeatedly and causing insult to the people's representatives in the presence of the public. Therefore we have brought this to the notice of the Chief Secretary," Gopinath said.

He added that they would also lodge complaints with the State Governor and the Assembly Speaker in this regard.

The TDP and BJP legislators demanded that the Telangana government take immediate action with regard to protocol issue and release a GO. They wanted the government to make it compulsory that the area MLA should be the chief guest at all government programmes there. Besides, the MLA should be informed by the officials about the various government programmes in advance.

The local officials should cooperate with their MLA in finding solutions to the problems of the people, they added. And the local MLA should be given importance in the selection of the beneficiaries of government programmes, as also in the plaques of government programmes attended, even if the Chief Minister or a Union minister was the main dignitary.

The signatories to the memorandum were TDP MLAs Maganti Gopinath, G Sayanna and T Prakash Goud; BJP MLA Chintala Ramachandra Reddy; and BJP MLC N Ramchander Rao.