Socialist Party (India)

The nature of the recent ‘Birthday Celebrations’ of a constitutional head viz., the Chief Minister of Telangana was highly unimpressive and abhorrent. The official CMO page displays 108 pictures and announcements about how IAS and IPS and other constitutional heads met, bent and greeted the CM at Pragathi Bhawan.

ముఖ్యమంత్రి శ్రీ కె. చంద్రశేఖర్ రావు పుట్టినరోజును పురస్కరించుకుని వివిధ రంగాలకు చెందిన పలువురు ప్రముఖులు ప్రగతి భవన్ లో ఆయనను కలిసి శుభాకాంక్షలు తెలిపారు.

మరిన్ని ఫోటోలకు ఇక్కడ చూడండి: https://t.co/oTntXNQfTs pic.twitter.com/IoPnCObwTN
— Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) February 17, 2020

Screenshot of the album uploaded on the Telangana CMO official Facebook page.

Is it part of the officials’ duty to greet the CM? Why were they greeting the CM during their official duty hours? How much of public time was wasted? Collectors can’t meet the public but are meeting the CM for his ‘birthday’!?

So many appointment letters are waiting for the CM’s acceptance and time. Even the SPI & UCF letter delivered at the CMO office on 30 December 2019 is yet to receive a reply, but this is how the CM makes people wait to greet him on his birthday.

The comments on the CMO official page reveal how the public waited from 8 am to 5 pm at CM gate creating commotion outside and nuisance for traffic and commuters. While public who are peacefully protesting are picked up and detained overnight, people who want to greet the CM on his birthday are allowed to create a commotion? While the former is a democratically allowed constitutional duty the latter is a miserable practise that should have been condemned by the CM.

Here is a comment on the CMO Facebook page by Rajanikanth Reddy, “Sir, common people, Senior citizens, school children waited at the main gate (outside) since 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They came to wish you but not any favour personally. You met MLAs and Ministers but forget the real votes and well-wishers. Many Many Happy Returns of the day KCR Garu. Hope you can understand the situation out there.”

Why are these women on duty standing with folded hands before you with a pleading look on your ‘birthday’? Did you ask them any questions like, are they getting salaries on time? Do they have access to best of treatment when they get sick? What are preventive measures so they do not fall sick? Are their children going to the best of experiential creative government schools? ( Are there any such schools in Telangana?)

While police have lathis in their hands when they are among the public, they have flower bouquets in their hands for you! We hope to see an upgrade in the attire of the Telangana Police which does away with the stick as part of their uniform. It is an insult to citizens as well as to the police staff.

A Chief Minister should encourage democratic and participative measures in his government. But your office openly publicised these extravagant celebrations on your official pages, even as numerous government orders/cabinet resolutions remain shrouded in secrecy. It is highly ironic that your government has been questioned recently and many times earlier by the High Court for not updating the Government Order website!

Not to mention the haphazard tree plantation that was done in the name of your birthday at the call given by your son, the MAUD minister, which speak volumes about how the government prefers to follow mindless populism, rather than rational and scientific knowledge-based governance.

It is also shameful, to say the least, that schoolchildren were involved in these ‘birthday’ celebrations. Was it the mandate of the HMDA to organise a plantation drive on the occasion of the CM’s ‘birthday’? Why was the GHMC Deputy Commissioner at a dargah to carry out the plantation and a ‘dua’ for the CM’s ‘birthday’? Is this part of his duty? Surely God would not bless such a narcissist mindset and such abuse of power.

This is indeed pathetic and a symptom of the decaying of governance in Telangana.

Best,

Dr Lubna Sarwath, State Gen Secretary, Socialist Party(India), Hyderabad

Janab Maqbool Mateen, National President, United Citizens Forum