BRS alleged that the logo was first shared in a WhatsApp group of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on 22 May and they took it from there.
TSRTC buses. (Sourced)
A now deleted logo shared on a WhatsApp group has turned into the latest flashpoint between ruling Congress and Opposition BRS in Telangana. At the crux of the issue is Telangana pride and its symbolic representation.
The Telangana police booked former BRS digital media director Konatham Dileep and party worker Harish Reddy for allegedly creating and propagating a fake logo of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) on social media.
A case was filed on Thursday, 23 May, at Chikkadpally Police Station in Hyderabad against them under Sections 468, 504, 506 (1)(b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act read with 34 of the IPC.
Meanwhile, BRS alleged that the logo was first shared in a WhatsApp group of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on 22 May and they took it from there to post on X.
They claimed that the ancient Kakatiya Thoranam and Charminar in the old logo were removed from the new one.
An official of Chikkadpally Police Station told South First that they are working on finding the people who circulated the fake logo and that only BRS members were booked for now.
South First tried accessing the logo shared in the WhatsApp group of Minister Prabhakar but found it deleted.
Prabhakar’s team clarified that they did not share any logos in the group as they were not involved in approving the TGSRTC logo.
“A draft logo was shared in the WhatsApp group by someone but it was definitely not without the Charminar and Kakatiya Thoranam. It was shared by mistake and was deleted later. The group is open for everybody and anybody can verify the facts,” Prabhakar’s team told South First.
TGSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar took to X and said that the logo preparation was in process and there was no truth in the fake logo being shared on social media.
“There is no truth in the social media campaign regarding the new logo. The company has not officially released the new logo yet. The one being promoted on social media as the new logo of TGSRTC is fake. The company is designing a new logo and the management has not finalised the new logo yet,” he said on X in Telugu.
#TGSRTC కొత్త లోగో విషయంలో సోషల్ మీడియాలో జరుగుతున్న ప్రచారంలో ఏమాత్రం వాస్తవం లేదు. అధికారికంగా ఇప్పటివరకు కొత్త లోగోను సంస్థ విడుదల చేయలేదు. టీజీఎస్ఆర్టీసీ కొత్త లోగో అంటూ సోషల్ మీడియాలో ప్రచారంచేస్తోన్న లోగో ఫేక్. ఆ లోగోతో సంస్థకు ఎలాంటి సంబంధం లేదు. కొత్త లోగోను సంస్థ… pic.twitter.com/n2L0rezuoo
— VC Sajjanar – MD TGSRTC (@tgsrtcmdoffice) May 23, 2024
The case was filed by TGSRTC officer Anchuri Sridhar on 23 May after Dileep and Harish Reddy shared the fake logo. The complaint said they shared the logo even before the state government approved any.
He also alleged that Harish Reddy posted an abusive video intended to damage the reputation of the corporation.
“The logo incident was two days ago. No officials had shared it. It was being forwarded to WhatsApp groups. It is an old logo made during the Telangana agitation,” a person working with TGSRTC told South First requesting anonymity.
“Since the news that TSRTC has been changed to TGSRTC and changes would be made to the logo, they downloaded a random logo after a Google search and shared it,” the source claimed.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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