Telangana rejects MHA idea to form joint force for Hyderabad

Centre wants to amend Business Transaction Rules

July 13, 2014 09:38 am | Updated November 16, 2021 09:24 pm IST - New Delhi

A panoramic view of the Telangana capital. File photo

A panoramic view of the Telangana capital. File photo

Taking the Centre head on, the Telangana government has dashed off a strong letter rejecting outright a suggestion by the Union Home Ministry to constitute a joint task force comprising police from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and a special cell to deal with hate crimes and other specified crimes.

Responding to a communication from the Centre last month, the Telangana government wrote back dismissing its suggestion to amend the Business Transaction Rules of Telangana. The letter from the General Administration Department of the Telangana government maintained that the common capital area was very much part of the Telangana State. As law and order was a State subject, there could not be any joint task force and turned down the role of police officials of other State in Telangana.

The Centre, in a circular to Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, among other things had proposed amendments that allowed the Governor to have the power to call for any record or information or decision of the Council of Ministers envisaged under Section 8 of the Reorganisation Act.

The communiqué also sought to create a special cell headed by an officer not below the rank of IGP in Hyderabad and Cyberabad Commissionerates and another cell led by an SP rank officer in Ranga Reddy district to deal with hate crimes and crimes related to extortion and speedy trial.

Minister for Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao confirmed to The Hindu on Sunday that the Telangana government had sent its reply to the Centre. “We need not set up a joint task force,” the Minister said and termed the move unacceptable. “We will obviously oppose the Centre’s move to infringe on the State subject,” he said.

Flays talk of hate crime

The IT Minister strongly reacted to the reference to hate crimes. “Where is the question of any hate crime in the Twin Cities,” Mr. Rama Rao said, wondering why such argument was being put forth.

He sought to know whether any one had approached the police station complaining about harassment or discrimination. “In fact, the Centre should applaud us for effectively implementing law and order,” Mr. Rao said, adding the government was only protecting its land and removing encroachments on the Gurukul Trust lands.

A top police official in the Telangana government said there was no mention of the joint task force in the bifurcation Act. “The Governor has to act on the advice of the Government of Telangana,” he said.

The officer dismissed the idea of a special cell to deal with hate crime. “I had a meeting with intelligence and other officers and not a single complaint has been received so far. If they have any thing, the aggrieved party can SMS or upload the incident on Facebook,” the officer told The Hindu .

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