Professor PL Vishweshwara Rao from Secunderabad filed the petition recently with regard to a nose stud embedded with 57 diamonds worth Rs 5 crore that CM KCR donated to a temple
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has landed in trouble after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Hyderabad High Court.
Professor PL Vishweshwara Rao from Secunderabad filed the petition recently with regard to a nose stud embedded with 57 diamonds worth Rs 5 crore that the chief minister “donated” to Goddess Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada.
In the petition, Prof Rao claimed that the donation to the temple, along with several other offerings made earlier to the temples in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, is illegal since the money was spent from the state's funds.
Speaking to My Nation, Prof Rao elaborated, “We are urging the High Court to declare the chief minister's offerings. We are saying it is illegal, unconstitutional and anti-secular because all this was done at the cost of the public exchequer. I have made the chief minister one of the chief respondents of the PIL."
"He had taken a vow during the Telangana agitation that if Telangana is made a separate state, he will make offerings to the temples. It has to be in his personal capacity. He has no right to draw public money to fulfil his personal vows or promises," Rao added.
He also mentioned that KCR took his entire family on a special flight from Begumpet airport to Vijayawada to hand over the diamond embedded nose stud. Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Rao, TRS party leader Keshava Rao and Vice-Chairman of Mission Bhagiratha V Prashant Reddy were also part of the visit, according to Rao.
KCR has been on a donation spree ever since he became the CM. Back in February 2017, he donated gold ornaments, including a “Kiritam” worth Rs 5 crore to Tirupati temple as a part of his vow.
He gave a golden crown worth Rs 59 lakh to a Bhadrakali temple in Warangal. He has also given a golden moustache for Veerabhadra Swami temple in Mahbubabad.
Prof Rao said, "He conducted an 'Ayutha Chandi Yagam’ at the cost of Rs 5 crore in December 2015. As a CM he is a public servant as per the Constitution. He cannot use public money to perform Chandi Yagam. If it has to be performed it must be done only in his personal capacity. About 2,000 policemen were deployed for protection during the ceremony."
The professor also sought the details of the making of the gold ornaments and from where the diamonds were bought.
When asked if he has had supporters for the PIL, Prof Rao said, "I have prepared the draft and I will argue in the court myself. There is also an advocate named Kavi Abbasi who is helping me in the case.
"This is people's money. He is answerable to the people. Was there a cabinet meeting where the permission to donate was passed? 30 per cent of the people of Telangana are below the poverty line. Drop-out rates among schoolchildren are very high. The percentage of children working as labourers is also very high. The priority of the chief minister must be health, education and agriculture," Prof Rao mentioned.
A PIL was also filed against KCR back in 2017 by Professor Kancha Ilaiah asking for similar details of the CM's splurges on temples in the two Telugu states.
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