Tamilisai Soundararajan was upset that the state government had not invited her to the inauguration of the new Telangana Secretariat.
Apparently stung by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s caustic aspersions on the state government for not inviting her to the inauguration of the Telangana Secretariat, Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday, 4 May, wondered whether the Constitution had laid out any such rules.
The Governor had said, at a G20 preparatory meeting on Wednesday, 3 March, that it was easier for her to meet the heads of other countries than meet the Telangana chief minister, and took objection to apparently not being invited to the inauguration of the new secretariat.
Taking serious exception to her comments, the finance minister asked whether the prime minister invited the President to the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the new Parliament building in Delhi.
In an informal interaction with reporters, he referred to the President not being invited when the prime minister flagged off the Vande Bharat trains.
“We have respect for Tamilisai Soundararajan as a woman Governor. But she is acting against the interests of Telangana,” he said.
Referring to the Bills which she held back, Rao said that one was meant to raise the retirement age of the professors in the Medical Education Department.
“What is her objection to the Bill? In several states, the professors retire between 65 and 70 years,” he noted.
He said the National Medical Council had stated in its guidelines that the retirement age of professors could be raised up to 70 years.
The Governor should keep a check on whether Bills passed by the Assembly were on issues in the state list and the concurrent list, Harish Rao stated.
The Governor could also keep Bills on the backburner if the issues related to them were in the Supreme Court, he added.
“How could Tamilisai Soundararajan, being a doctor, deny medical services to the people? Isn’t it hurting the interests of the people of the state by holding back a Bill seeking raising of the retirement age of professors in medical institutions?” he asked
He added that the Governor did not react until the state moved the Supreme Court. Finally, she rejected the Bill and sent it back to the state.
The Governor, by keeping in abeyance and rejecting the bill, denied medical help to the people, he said, adding that she also denied education to students and employment to the youth.
There is no recruitment to universities in Telangana when jobs are being filled in universities in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
Harish Rao said that the governor, who approved the Bill related to setting up of five private universities in the past, had held back a similar Bill now.
In Karnataka, ruled by the BJP, there are several private universities. “As the governor stalled the Bill, recruitment of professors to the veterinary college in Siddipet could not be made. Isn’t it obstructing the progress of the state?” he asked.
The Governor had hurt the pride and self-respect of Telangana with her comments against the state government and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, said Harish Rao.
He said: “KCR is a unique person. There is no leader like him who had resigned and was elected to legislative houses so many times. KCR is a people’s leader. He inaugurated 15 medical colleges by pressing a button. You are blowing your own trumpet by sanctioning just one AIIMS.”
The finance minister said that the people were under the impression that the governor was working under the supervision of the BJP. “If she is interested in politics, let her join the BJP and contest elections,” he quipped.
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
