Telangana has become slave to 'Bihari gang': Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad, March 2:  Reiterating his claim that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has his roots in Bihar, state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday alleged that Telangana has become slave in the hands of a group of IAS and IPS officers of Bihar origin.

He told a news conference that the Chief Minister appointed IAS and IPS officer of Bihar origin on key posts and entrusted each of them 6-8 departments to, what he called "loot the state".

Revanth Reddy, who is also a member of Parliament, said that while hundreds of people of Telangana laid down lives for separate state, local officials were totally ignored in appointments.

He said this had caused heartburn among those who actively participated in Telangana movement. He claimed that the appointment of officials from Bihar posed a grave danger to the very identity of Telangana.

Reddy alleged that Chief Minister appointed Somesh Kumar to the post of Chief Secretary though the latter was not eligible for the top post. He said IPS officer Anjani Kumar was made Director General of Police by sending the incumbent DGP on leave.

Noting IAS officials Rajat Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Jayesh Ranjan and Sandeep Kumar Sultania, who all hail from Bihar, were each holding charge of several key departments, he asked how the Chief Minister found only these officials eligible among 157 IAS officers and 139 IPS officers in the state.

Revanth Reddy alleged that Chief Minister KCR had colluded with what he called the 'Bihar gang' for wrongdoings. He claimed that Somesh Kumar was rewarded with the post of Chief Secretary for deleting 30 lakh voters from the list of voters when he was the Commissioner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

The Congress leader also claimed that Dharani portal was together developed by the Chief Minister and Somesh Kumar to allow irregularities in land administration so that those close to the TRS government get thousands of acres of land. He blamed the 'flawed' system for the killing of two realtors in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The Congress leader referred to Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha's statement criticising him for stating that KCR has roots in Bihar. "This shows how deep are his roots in Bihar," said Revanth Reddy. He claimed that KCR in an interview had revealed that his ancestors had come from Bihar.

Reacting to reports that KCR has hired the services of political strategist Prashant Kishor, the Congress leader said this was another proof of 'Bihar gang' conspiring to loot Telangana.