Case against Kaushik Reddy bid to stifle the voice of Opposition: KTR

Hyderabad: Taking a strong exception to criminal case filed against the BRS leader and Huzurabad MLA, Padi Kaushik Reddy in Karimnagar for voicing his concerns at the Zilla parishad meeting, the party working president, K T Rama Rao on Wednesday called it a deliberate attempt to stifle the voice of the opposition. He said the government was filing false cases against the elected representatives of the BRS in a bid to silence them and threaten them into submission.

He wondered whether public governance would mean filing illegal cases against public representatives for questioning government on public issues. He questioned whether it was wrong on the part of an MLA to hold a meeting with the mandal education officer on the status of facilities provided to the poor students in the government schools of the constituency, as well as the upkeep of classrooms.

He pointed out that the District Educational Officer had served notices to the mandal education officer for attending the meeting held by the MLA. Kaushik Reddy ad expressed his anger over the government official behaving like a Congress party worker and raised the same issue in the ZP meeting. K T Rama Rao wanted to know whether Kaushik Reddy had the right to organize a meeting with the constituency officials as its MLA or not. Apart from distribution of Dalit Bandhu cheques, KCR Kits and nutrition Kits, are given by government hospital, Kaushik Reddy demanded a gynecologist to be posted in government hospital for women. Is this wrong on the part of an MLA, he questioned.

Justifying the protest, he said Kaushik Reddy had tried to lodge a protest as the collector was not paying attention to the issues raised by him in the Zilla Parishad meeting. Coming down heavily on the government for depriving public representative of his right to protest, K T Rama Rao called it a case of conspiracy. The case was filed against Kaushik Reddy under the pressure of government officials.

Demanding the government to withdraw the case against the Huzurabad MLA immediately, he said Kaushik Reddy had been fighting for the people of the constituency and their issues ever since, he was elected as an MLA. He has been exposing irregularities and corruption of government officials consistently. The BRS would continue to fight for the people and remain the voice of the public without surrendering to the threat of the government, he asserted.