Opposition parties in Telangana on Monday met with Governor E S L Narasimhan and requested him to use his powers to stop the 'misuse' of public money in the construction of a new Secretariat and Legislature for the state. Leaders of the Congress, BJP, TDP and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) called on Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.
"He (Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) is unnecessarily putting this financial burden on the people... for his superstitions. Shifting or demolishing the existing buildings will be a major loss to the people..... The special power with regard to shifting of offices also lies with the Governor. We appealed to the Governor to stop the misuse of money," Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy from the Congress, told reporters after the meeting.
Besides other Congress leaders like Jana Reddy and T Jeevan Reddy, D K Aruna from the BJP, Telangana TDP president L V Ramana and TJS chief M Kondandaram were also present, along with Chada Venkat Reddy from the CPI.
"To protect the interests of the people and of the state, we met the Governor today. We oppose the construction tooth and nail. We demand that public funds should not be misused," Aruna said.
"The Governor has special powers to invoke certain clauses and stop the construction of the Secretariat. We urge him to do the same," Chada Venkat Reddy said.
Former MP Vivekanand said that they would also meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Union Home minister Amit Shah over KCR's decision.
It was last week that the Congress and the BJP in Telangana joined hands to oppose the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi's (TRS) plans to construct a brand new Assembly and Secretariat complex.
At an All Party Round Table conference in Hyderabad, the political parties said that it was a 'huge waste' of public money and pointed out that the existing buildings were structurally sound.
Meanwhile, the High Court is also hearing a batch of petitions against the state government's plans.
Descendants of Nawab Fakrul Mulk, a noble of erstwhile Hyderabad State, have also opposed the plans to demolish Errum Manzil, a family palace built by him about 150 years ago.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on June 27 laid the foundation stone for both the buildings.
While the new Secretariat complex will be built at a cost of Rs 400 crore by demolishing existing structures near Hussain Sagar lake, the Assembly building will be constructed by razing Errum Manzil, a heritage structure. The Assembly building will be constructed at a cost Rs 100 crore.