You may have seen Dalitwadas in villages located far away from the main village. Similarly, the Media Centre of the new secretariat is located outside the building and there is no facility for media personnel to enter the new secretariat.
The police blocked TPCC President Revanth Reddy on May 1 at the Telephone Bhavan when he tried to file the first RTI application to MA&UD Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar at the new Secretariat. The police took Revanth to the Masab Tank MA&UD office saying that Arvind Kumar is based there.
The police blocked BJP corporators from entering the new Secretariat. The cops also blocked BJP MLA T. Raja Singh at Secretariat’s main gate when he tried to enter the secretariat as per an invitation from Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav to attend a meeting to discuss Hyderabad development. But the police allowed AMIM and BRS MLAs and MLCs inside the new secretariat for the same meeting.
The BRS government allowed some local media personnel on inauguration day. But the BRS government brought around 70 journalists from other states and gave them five-star treatment and arranged. Two special buses were arranged for them with special escort (not police).
The same BRS government took 17 Maldives journos inside the new Secretariat on Wednesday and showed them the entire building.
On Thursday, the BRS government invited representatives of the Maharashtra Kisan Sanghatana to the new Secretariat and showed them the building’s prototype. One of the representatives, Kuldip Karipe, praised KCR saying that he was happy that KCR named the Secretariat after Dr BR Ambedkar.
“It is great that KCR named the Secretariat after Dr BR Ambedkar. Building a 125-feet statue of Dr Ambedkar and getting the statue unveiled by Ambedkar’s grandson is a matter of pride for the entire country,” he said.
But the BRS government is not allowing local journalists and opposition leaders to enter the secretariat. One senior journalist said that the government decided not to allow media personnel inside the Secretariat the day it shifted the old secretariat to BRKR Bhavan.
Journalists used to stay in front of BRKR Bhavan or at Adarsh Nagar MLA Quarters when the secretariat was in BRKR Bhavan. At that time journalists hoped that this treatment from the BRS government might be temporary and that it may allow journalists inside the new secretariat.
The BRS government built the Media Centre for journos covering the secretariat but it is outside the secretariat building. Another secretariat beat reporter, who covered the old secretariat, said that Ambedkar’s statue located beside the new Secretariat is looking towards Hussiansagar and he doesn’t know what is happening behind him (Ambedkar fought against untouchability).
“We used to cover news visiting the old secretariat when there was no Ambedkar statue. We became untouchables in the new secretariat,” he said.
Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav criticised opposition leaders stating that they had opposed the construction of the new secretariat but they are now trying the new secretariat.
He described the new secretariat as Telangana’s White House and that opposition leaders have no right to criticise the BRS government regarding the new secretariat.
Expressing shock over keeping journalists away from the new secretariat, a veteran journalist said, “I did not understand that the idea of the BRS government is to keep journalists away from the new secretariat.”
