Minister Adluri Laxman refutes BRS charges, demands apology from Harish Rao

Minister for Scheduled Castes, Tribal Welfare and Minorities Welfare Adluri Laxman came down heavily on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders, including former minister T. Harish Rao for their allegations over the Congress government led by Revanth Reddy. He also threw an open challenge to Mr. Harish Rao, asking him to take an oath at the Siddipet Venkateswara Swamy temple over his allegations on discussions during the recent Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan here on Tuesday, Mr. Laxman Kumar said he was ready to swear by his parents that no ‘personal issues’ were discussed during the recent Cabinet meeting, contrary to what Mr. Harish Rao had alleged. “Can Harish Rao take an oath in wet clothes before God that his claims are true?” he asked. Demanding an unconditional apology from Mr. Harish Rao, said “It is immoral to propagate things that did not happen in the Cabinet. Are Ministers now being referred to as a ‘Dandupalyam batch’?” he remarked.

Mr. Laxman claimed that over 600 FIRs were registered against Congress social media activists during the BRS regime. “For 10 years, they (BRS leaders) behaved as if they were monarchs. Where was K.T. Rama Rao when Dalits were attacked in his Sircilla constituency?” he asked.

Targeting BRS leaders R.S. Praveen Kumar and Balka Suman, Mr. Laxman said it was ‘ridiculous’ for them to talk about ‘mafia and commissions’. “Praveen Kumar, who was an IPS officer, did not utter a word during the Nerella (Sircilla district) Dalit incident, nor did he speak up for Dalits when BRS leaders were protected by the KCR government,” he alleged.

Turning to Mr. Balka Suman, Mr. Laxman said, “Where was Suman when unemployed youth protested during the BRS regime?” he asked. Laxman Kumar also accused the previous government of resorting to phone tapping and surveillance.