Congress, BRS in Street Battle

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Hyderabad witnessed high political drama on Thursday as Congress ministers and BRS leaders traded open challenges over alleged irregularities in Gurukul welfare tenders and Telangana's debt burden, culminating in police intervention, detentions, and a fierce exchange of accusations. While both sides publicly declared their willingness to debate, the much anticipated face to face discussion failed to materialise, with each blaming the other for avoiding it.

The confrontation began after Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Adluri Laxman and Mohd Azharuddin reached Amaraveerula Sthupam in Gun Park, accepting the BRS challenge for an open debate on alleged corruption in welfare department hostel procurement tenders. The ministers said they were prepared to discuss the issue with any former BRS minister and later suggested shifting the debate to the Somajiguda Press Club.

At the same time, former minister T. Harish Rao, accompanied by former minister V. Srinivas Goud, BRS General Secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar and other party leaders, attempted to march from Telangana Bhavan to Gun Park. Police stopped the rally, leading to tense scenes, protests and the detention of Harish Rao and several BRS leaders. The opposition accused the Congress government of using the police to prevent the debate.

In a parallel development, Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao had challenged BRS leaders to a debate on Telangana's finances at Telangana Bhavan. However, BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao alleged that despite waiting for hours at Bhavan and also arranging a seat for Jupally there, the minister failed to turn up before eventually joining fellow ministers at Gun Park. Congress ministers strongly rejected allegations of irregularities in Gurukul tenders, asserting that the procurement process was conducted transparently under the supervision of multiple government departments.

Ponnam Prabhakar accused the BRS of spreading falsehoods and attempting to mislead the public, while Adluri Laxman clarified that the total value of the tenders was Rs. 1,143 crore, dismissing BRS claims of a multi thousand crore scam. He also challenged BRS president K. Chandrashekhar Rao to participate in a public debate.

On the issue of Telangana's finances, Jupally Krishna Rao, who came to Gun Park, alleged that the previous BRS government had burdened the state with liabilities amounting to nearly Rs. 8.21 lakh crore, including borrowings through various corporations. He maintained that the present government was paying around Rs. 6,000 crore every month towards debt servicing and interest, and declared he was prepared to resign if his figures were proved incorrect.

BRS leaders, however, dismissed the Congress claims as politically motivated and accused the government of avoiding direct confrontation. KTR alleged that the ruling party had "run away" from the debate and described the detention of Harish Rao and other leaders as an attempt to suppress the opposition. He challenged the government to convene a special session of the Assembly, promising to expose what he termed the failures of the Congress administration.

Harish Rao also questioned the government's willingness to debate, arguing that police restrictions on BRS leaders contradicted the ministers' claims of openness. He reiterated allegations of large scale irregularities in Gurukul tenders and accused the Congress of trying to divert attention from governance issues.

The sharp differences over the actual value of welfare tenders and the extent of Telangana's debt once again proved the widening political divide between the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS. Although the promised public debate did not take place, Thursday's events further intensified the political battle, with both parties indicating that the confrontation will continue inside and outside the Assembly in the coming days.