Governor comes under sharp attack from Congress for his alleged pro-TRS approach

Hyderabad: The meeting of Telangana Congress leaders with the governor ESL Narasimhan has triggered an unsavory controversy. Congress leaders led by the state party president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who had met the governor to make a representation against the alleged activities of sand mafia, made angry remarks prompting the governor to threaten walk out of the meeting.

As the Congress leaders alleged that the governor was acting in a partisan manner and siding with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s government, the governor angrily retorted, “What nonsense you are talking,” sources present at the meeting said.

What started with formal pleasantries and presentation of memorandum to the governor took a bitter turn when the governor advised the Congress leaders to cooperate with the state government.

He also rejected the allegation of Congress leaders that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government had colluded with the sand mafia. On the allegation that the sand mafia was responsible for the death of a Village Revenue Assistant (VRA), Sailoo, in Kamareddy district, the governor said that the person was not VRA and he was hit by a vehicle carrying bricks and not sand.

This led to heated exchanges with a member of the delegation and former MP Sarve Sathyanarayana reminding Narasimhan that he was appointed as the governor by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and now continuing in the same post under the National Democratic Alliance government due to his lobbying. The Congress leaders went to the extent of saying that the governor was now acting like a TRS worker and not a governor. This evoked a strong reaction from the governor who shouted back angrily, “what nonsense you are talking?”

He also threatened to walk out of the meeting.

There was also a wordy duel over the TRS government’s action against Dalit leader Manda Krishna Madiga and his arrest. Sathyanarayana alleged that the governor was backing the TRS government even when it was adopting repressive measures against the opposition and the governor objected to the Congress supporting Madiga on taking out a rally despite denial of permission by the police.

The delegation included senior leaders such as Jana Reddy, the leader of opposition in the state assembly, and Mohammed Ali Shabbir, the leader of opposition in the state legislative council.

Significantly, Narasimhan, a retired Indian Police Service officer, is perhaps the only one appointee of the UPA to continue as a governor even three-and-a-half years after a new government was formed. After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, he was appointed as the common governor of Telangana and AP, and the Centre relied on him to ensure smooth transition and oversee the resolution of disputes between the two states.

Though the process of changing the state governor had started many a time and several names did the rounds, Narasimhan continues an unhindered run and a warm rapport with both Chief Ministers Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu.

Congress leaders have continued to vent fire against Narasimhan even outside Raj Bhavan. Another senior party leader V Hanumantha Rao today said that governor Narasimhan had become handmaiden of Rao’s.

However, Raj Bhavan officials maintained that the meeting with Congress delegation was cordial. “The dignity and neutrality of Raj Bhavan will always be maintained,” an official release said.