Hyderabad: Days after the inauguration of Telangana’s new Secretariat, politics round it continues, with the Opposition BJP repeatedly accusing the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of “hurting Hindu sentiments”.
On Sunday, Telangana Chief Minister Ok. Chandrashekar Rao inaugurated a swanky new Secretariat — Dr B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat — for the state. Constructed at an estimated value of greater than Rs 600 crore, the Secretariat stands rather than a Nizam-era construction. It can home a temple, a mosque and a church — very like the previous one, which had a temple and two mosques.
The BJP, nonetheless, has objected to the design of the constructing, claiming that the cylindrical domes atop it comply with Islamic structure, and had been adopted by the chief minister in an try to “appease” a “sure group of individuals”.
Talking to the press a day earlier than the Secretariat was inaugurated, Telangana BJP chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar mentioned that it “damage Hindu sentiments” and it was being constructed to please Asaduddin Owaisi and his Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
He claimed that the land allotted for the temple inside was half the dimensions of the allotment for the mosque, and vowed that he would by no means enter the Secretariat premises till the domes had been torn down.
He repeated these claims on 1 Might, when he mentioned in a tweet that the chief minister was “developing an emblem of affection” for Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, however ignored farmers who suffered crop losses following incessant and unseasonal rains.
When KCR’s focus is on developing image of affection for MIM, persons are certain to endure.
It’s #TormentedTelangana and #DrowningHyderabad
What number of days will BRS govt idiot folks with Drone movies of village nurseries and flyovers? Actuality is farmers are going through crop losses in…
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) May 1, 2023
On its half, the Telangana authorities has clarified that the constructing’s structure was impressed by temples of each Telangana and Gujarat, in addition to the Deccan Kakatiya structure.
Owaisi, too, has given an analogous response. After a Twitter person named ‘Al Bhagwa’ claimed that the brand new constructing regarded like a “makbara (tomb)”, the Hyderabad MP mentioned the design was impressed by temples of Telangana and Gujarat.
Sir the design was impressed by Temples of Neelakanteshwara Swamy temple in Nizamabad,RajaPrasadas of Vanparthy Samasthanam,and Hanuman Temple Sarangpur Gujrat.
Will you continue to say …….
Ah a Waqf Registered Masjid was illegally demolished throughout the development which has now… https://t.co/ssP60Rm64T— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 30, 2023
Talking to ThePrint, BRS chief Manne Krishank, chairman of the Telangana State Mineral Growth Company, mentioned Bandi Sanjay “has no information of structure or historical past”.
“If demolition and destruction is their approach, then they need to first demolish Rashtrapati Bhavan or Supreme Court docket, as a result of they’ve domes too. BJP has no contribution in making of Telangana, the state’s improvement and even the Secretariat. In order that they don’t have any proper to talk,” he added.
ThePrint reached Bandi Sanjay by textual content message for a remark. This report will likely be up to date if and when he responds.
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Why ‘mandir’ and ‘masjid’ contained in the Secretariat
Talking Saturday, Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that, with the brand new Secretariat, the KCR authorities was attempting to maintain AIMIM chief Owaisi and a “sure group of individuals” pleased. If the BJP got here to energy, he mentioned, they’d construct one thing that was modelled after “Telangana’s tradition”.
Underneath development for over two years, the brand new secretariat is among the chief minister’s pet tasks. Though the chief minister’s workforce pegs the undertaking prices at Rs 550 crore, authorities sources estimated it at Rs 1,000 crore.
With bulletproof home windows for the CM’s workplace, a royal eating room, and a sky lounge amongst its varied highlights, the Secretariat is a grand ‘vaastu-compliant’ construction with 635 rooms. The whole complicated has an space of 27.9 acres.
The thought of a brand new Secretariat was first mooted in 2017. Initially estimated to value Rs 400 crore, the undertaking had seen opposition, not solely from rival events but in addition from residents who challenged the demolition of the previous Nizam-era constructing within the Telangana Excessive Court docket.
After a number of setbacks, demolition of the previous construction — which included a Nalla Pochamma temple and two mosques — started in July 2020.
Two months later, Chief Minister KCR promised to assemble new locations of worship — a temple, a mosque and a church — on the similar location. The announcement got here on the again of a gathering with a delegation of Muslim non secular leaders and Owaisi.
The mosque can be handed over to the Telangana Waqf Board after its development whereas the Nalla Pochamma temple being constructed can be given over to the endowment division, the chief minister had mentioned then.
The inspiration stone for the brand new mosque was laid in November 2021.
A supply within the Telangana authorities’s Roads and Buildings Division advised the Print that work on the mosque remains to be ongoing.
“The mosque is being constructed on the similar spot which was agreed upon up to now,” the supply mentioned. “It’d take a number of extra weeks no less than for the mosque to be operational.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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