The Minister for Finance today came down heavily on Tamilisai Soundararajan alleging that she was working against the interests of the State.
Minister for Finance T Harish Rao today came down heavily on Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan alleging that she was working against the interests of the State.
In an informal chat with media persons, Rao said that the Governor was not able to digest the growth of Telangana, and was deliberately creating troubles for the State government.
The minister said that a Common Recruitment Board has been in force in Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa for many years where the States have the right to increase the age limits of professors to 65 years. As the BRS government had launched 17 medical colleges across the State in two years, there was an acute shortage of experienced professors and doctors, and so the State government had increased the age limit to 65 years and mentioned it in the bill. But the Governor had rejected the proposal after sitting on the decision for over seven months, he said.
He said that the guidelines of the National Medical Council clearly stated that State governments had the right to increase the age limit for professors to 65 years, and that the Telangana government had followed the norms. Unfortunately, the Governor, a doctor herself, had opposed the idea of increasing the age limit for professors, he lamented.
"The Governor's primary duty is to check whether the Bills sent by the State government are under the purview of the Constitution. She has no right to hold the Bills for months together. It is very unfortunate that the Governor is not responding to the Bills until the State government knocks on the doors of the Supreme Court," Rao said.
The minister also found fault with the Governor for making political remarks against the State government at the C20 Samajshala meeting which was held at Gachibowli on Wednesday, and said that she was always trying to malign the image of the State government.
"Was a meeting where international delegates were present an occasion to level political remarks against the State government? Instead of highlighting the achievements of Telangana, the Governor is using every platform to malign the image of the State government and the Chief Minister," he alleged.
The minister said that the Governor had forgotten that she was in a constitutional post, and was behaving like a BJP leader.
Responding to a question on why the Governor was not invited by the State government for the inaugural ceremony of the new Secretariat complex, Rao said that there is no specific rule to invite the Governor for each and every program, and that it was the discretion of the State government to invite her.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is routinely flagging off Vande Bharat trains, but has never invited the President of India the ceremonies. Similarly, it is the choice of the Chief Minister to invite the Governor," Rao said.