Equating Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao with Nazi-era Propagandist Joseph Goebbels, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said KCR was spreading lies on the closure of Osmania University hostels and said the closure notice was issued as per the University almanac.
Taking to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) the Chief Minister shared a similar notice issued by the Osmania University authorities last year when the BRS was in power. The notice contained information on the closure of hostels due to summer vacation and also mentioned that the hostels were being closed due to acute shortage of power and water.
The Chief Minister’s post in Telugu read “Seeing KCR, it feels as if Goebbels is born again. After his lies in Suryapet and Mahabubnagar, he is trying his best to spread false information about the incidents related to Osmania University. In May 2023 when KCR was the Chief Minister, a similar notice was issued by the University Chief Warden regarding the summer vacations and closure of hostels from May 12 to June 5, 2023 also mentioned about shortage of electricity and water. KCR’s bankrupt idea and propaganda is clear with his rhetoric that OU has been shut down only after Congress came to power.”
Regular notice
Controversy over the closure of hostels for the summer vacation erupted after students complained that there was a water and electricity shortage on the campus and subsequent notice from the Chief Warden that hostels would be closed due to summer vacation. The notice also mentions power and water shortages as reasons. KCR, who joined the X platform recently, posted the message alleging that the Congress was unable to supply power and water.
He said “Telangana CM and Deputy CM were misleading the people on power, irrigation and drinking water supply in the state for the past four months. OU Chief Warden’s notice reflects that their claims were false.”
The post went viral with the election campaign at the peak and it also invited a strong response from Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka. He refuted the claims of KCR and accused him of spreading falsehood. He said there was no water scarcity or power disruption on the campus and the Chief Warden’s statement was related to summer vacation.
Mr. Bhatti said he had ordered a preliminary enquiry that found uninterrupted power supply to the 33/11 KV sub-station on OU campus through two 11KV special feeders and the readings showed no power cuts. The OU Registrar Prof. Laxminarayana issued a showcause notice to the Chief Warden for issuing a statement without verifying the facts.
The OU Vice Chancellor D. Ravinder also clarified that the notice was issued without any ulterior motives and the Chief Warden had merely used the content of the previous year. He said the vacation was declared as per the varsity almanack.
University officials also said that similar notices were issued in all the universities and unnecessary controversy was created in Osmania University given the sensitivities attached to the university since the Telangana agitation days.
