The Hindu : Front Page : ‘3 Telangana Ministers should quit’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 12, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

‘3 Telangana Ministers should quit’

KCR cites Government ‘inaction’ on House panel recommendation on NSL units

Opposition of YSR on ‘gifting away’ units cited
Move to ‘corporatise’ primary education flayed

HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K.Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday demanded that three Ministers hailing from Telangana force the Government to take back the privatised four units of Nizam Sugars Factory Limited (NSL) or else resign from the Cabinet.

He wanted them to make the Government act on the basis of the recommendations of a House Committee which went into the joint venture agreement and submitted its report two years ago.

Instances cited

Mr. Rao told a press conference here that the issue was coming up before the next Cabinet meeting to be held on November 13. He said Endowments Minister J. Ratnakar Rao was the chairman of the House Committee which had unanimously recommended that the units be resumed by the Government, while Rural Development Minister G.Chinna Reddy was a member. Roads and Buildings Minister T.Jeevan Reddy had spoken vehemently against the privatisation in the Assembly in the past. He recalled that Chief Minister Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy as Leader of the Opposition had written a letter on the sale of NSL to then Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu in 2002 opposing gifting away of the units to private companies.

Panel recommendation

Mr. Rao quoted the recommendation of the House Committee which found that the sale of NSL units under joint venture was not approved by the Cabinet, which makes the “JV null and void” requiring the Government to take back the factories.

Hitting out at Congress leaders from Telangana for remaining silent on the statehood issue for the ‘sake of power’, the TRS leader accused them of ‘deceiving the people in spite of a consensus.’ The non-implementation of the House Committee recommendation on taking back NSL units for the last two years exposed the “true colours” of Dr.Reddy.

Move denounced

He denounced the Government’s move to “corporatise primary education” and announced that an all-party meeting would be convened by the TRS to chalk out an action programme. Once the party comes to power after formation of Telangana, State-run public schools would be established in all mandals to provide free and compulsory education to children from all BPL families, he said. They would be provided meals. Each poor family would be given a monthly stipend of Rs.250.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page