The relationship between Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) soured further after the former was not invited to the inauguration of the Dr BR Ambedkar Secretariat in Hyderabad on Sunday, April 30. The Governor’s office told TNM that they did not receive any invitation from the Chief Minister’s Office. The Governor and the CM have not been on good terms ever since Tamilisai did not approve the nomination of MLC Padi Kaushik under the Governor quota, which was recommended by the Telangana cabinet in 2021.
The inauguration of the newly-constructed Secretariat building will begin with Hindu rituals. KCR will occupy his office on the sixth floor after the rituals, which is expected to conclude at 1.30 pm. Ministers will also occupy their respective offices and the CM is likely to address the employees and invitees at 2.15 pm.
The Governor was snubbed earlier this month too, when she was not invited to the inauguration of the 125-feet Ambedkar statue located near the Secretariat. Speaking about this, Tamilisai said “...it was a big event. There was no invitation for me. If I had got the invitation, I would have come and participated in the inauguration of the statue of our honourable Ambedkar ji. Not only is he the father of our Constitution, but he has put forth his words for the development of the country, for women empowerment particularly,” she told news channels here. “I also felt very bad…”
The conflict between the two became public when the Governor accused Chief Minister KCR of violating protocol. She had alleged that Collectors and the Superintendent of Police do not accompany her during official visits. The crisis deepened when KCR did not participate in the Republic Day celebrations and also skipped the ‘At Home’ event hosted by the Governor. Taking offence, Tamilisai slammed KCR in her Republic Day speech, later even appearing in TV debates accusing him of violating the Constitution by refusing to participate in the celebrations.
The new Secretariat was constructed at a cost of Rs 617 crore, after the previous structure was demolished. The old structure was pulled down citing that the building was not ‘vaastu-compliant’, amid opposition from Opposition parties. For the same reason, KCR did not operate from the building and instead chose to work from Pragathi Bhavan, his residence-cum-office in Somajiguda.