Hyderabad: Congress MLA from Station Ghanpur, Kadiyam Srihari, on Thursday, July 9, responded to allegations by Telangana Minister for Endowments and Forests Konda Surekha over a meeting he held with officials from the Endowments Department without her knowledge, saying the minister had misunderstood the situation.
Addressing a press conference on the issue, Srihari said, “Officials come and meet me regularly, it shouldn’t be considered a review meeting.” He clarified that he had met the officials to discuss matters concerning a temple in Station Ghanpur.
The MLA expressed surprise over Surekha’s letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy seeking a review of the incident, and questioned why the minister was objecting to an MLA meeting with government officials.
Background of the incident
Srihari’s clarification comes a day after the minister wrote to the Chief Minister alleging that the MLA had held a meeting with Endowments officials without her knowledge. In the letter, dated July 7, Surekha said, “This is alarming and disturbing. How can an MLA bypass the Minister and issue directions to officials on matters relating to Endowments lands and other departmental issues?”
According to reports, the meeting was held on Monday, July 6, and Surekha was informed of it only the following day. Srihari reportedly discussed issues related to temples falling within his Assembly constituency during the meeting, and also directed officials to furnish a copy of the Warangal Master Plan.
“It is a clear violation of Rules of Business and an encroachment on ministerial authority,” Surekha said in her letter, demanding disciplinary action against Srihari and terming the move a deliberate attempt to belittle her and undermine her position.
Surekha’s outburst comes amid an alleged ongoing rift between her and Congress legislators from the erstwhile Warangal district.
Srihari is among the 10 turncoat MLAs who won on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections but later defected to the Congress. The BRS had subsequently filed a disqualification petition against him with Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar under the Anti-Defection Law. On March 11, the Speaker dismissed all such petitions, allowing Srihari to retain his seat.
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