TRS Usurped Municipal Posts Violating Democratic Norms: BJP

Launching a scathing attack on ruling TRS, Telangana BJP president Dr K Laxman today decried Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his minister son K T Rama Rao "making a mockery of democracy by grabbing the coveted posts in the various municipalities and corporations of the state in an undemocratic manner".

Addressing a press conference at state party office, Laxman alleged that ruling party leaders had adopted undemocratic and unconstitutional methods to usurp the chairman and vice-chairman posts of the many municipalities and the mayor posts in many corporations where the opposition parties had gained majorities.

For example, in the Nizamabad municipal corporation, the TRS had, with the support of the MIM, bagged the mayor post though the BJP was the largest single party with 28 seats, using the ex-officio members' votes, he said.

The TRS had also, despite standing third winning five out of the 15 seats in the Tukkuguda municipality, grabbed the chairman post through the backdoor, though the BJP had won 9 seats there. Till the end of the election process time, some of the ex-officio members and a Rajya Sabha member K Keshava Rao were listed in the Badangpet municipality, but at the last minute the officials under pressure from the TRS had changed their jurisdiction and allotted them to Tukkuguda, he said. And how could Keshava Rao, a Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh as per the Parliament bulletin, exercise his vote in Telangana, Laxman asked. He demanded the cancellation of the selections for the chairman and vice-chairman posts of the Tukkuguda municipality, and warned that the BJP would call for a bandh if the government ignored its appeal.

The BJP chief said that all of the above was in addition to the ruling party first indulging in various unethical and illegal tactics to win the elections including violations of elections norms, distribution of money to lure voters and misuse of official machinery.

However, despite the misuse of power by the TRS, the performance of the BJP was quite encouraging, especially given that it had for the first time contested the elections on its own without being in alliance with any other party, Laxman said. The party had increased its seats and vote percentage in municipalities and corporations across the state, he claimed, and thanked the people who extended their support and voted in favour of the BJP candidates in spite of the TRS's tactics to lure voters.

Karimnagar BJP MP Bandi Sanjay, Telangana BJP General Secretary Chinta Sambamurthy, official spokesperson N V Subhash, former DGP Dinesh Reddy and other leaders were present at the press conference.