Guv seeks used laptops for poor students; praises KCR govt on Covid-19 fight front

Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan appealed to IT companies and professionals to donate used laptops to needy students who could not afford to buy them and help them achieve academic excellence. The Governor said she was moved by the enthusiasm of poor students who wanted to explore the world of knowledge, during her visits to tribal villages in the state.

Soundararajan shared with media persons her experiences of a two-year stay at Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday. Clad in traditional attire and sporting her disarming smile, the Governor announced that she would be working with NGOs to collect used laptops and distribute them to the poor. She said she was keen to resume visits to tribal villages and hold Praja Darbar, once the pandemic receded.

She said she preferred to remain a commoner rather than the Constitutional head of the state, while releasing a coffee table book titled ‘One Among and Amongst People’ to mark the completion of her two-year tenure in office. She said she would rather call it the ‘beginning of the third year in office’ rather than looking at it as completing two years.

Soundararajan, who is also in-charge Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, said though it was difficult to shuttle between two states every week, she, however, enjoyed her stint in Puducherry.  

The Governor said she was happy over some of her initiatives yielding results and getting recognition. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji appreciated my initiative of alumni portal of all the universities which I feel will help networking and guidance to the subsequent batches," she said adding that convincing residents of tribal tandas on the need to get vaccinated was another achievement. To instil confidence among the habitants, she got her second dose of vaccine in KC Tanda in Ranga Reddy district.

Soundararajan also appreciated Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, with whom she claimed to have enjoyed a very cordial relation, for his commendable initiatives. She said it was natural for the media to speculate tension between the Governor and the Chief Minister as they hailed from different political backgrounds, but being adherents to the Constitution, she said, she clearly demarcated between politics and governance. “There is no conflict between us and hence no controversies,” she pointed out.

Soundararajan, though inadvertently, revealed the secret behind the Chief Minister agreeing to join the Ayushman Bharat after stiff resistance to the Central health insurance scheme, explained how she could convince the Chief Minister on the need to join the scheme. People from other states could not avail the best medical facilities in the city and in some cases, patients from the state were joining in hospitals elsewhere, due to non-implementation of Ayushman Bharat, she said, adding, “The Chief Minister accepted my suggestion and I am happy that I am able to convince him.”

The Governor said the Telangana government did a commendable job in Covid containment operations and the vaccination drive. While appreciating the government’s efforts, she said, referring to her visits to hospitals in the early days of the pandemic, that there was a need to improve infrastructure. “The government agreed to expand treatment facilities on my suggestion,” she added.

The Governor also referred to her constant effort to improve higher education and said she was happy about all universities getting Vice Chancellors. The KCR government neglected appointing VCs for a long time till she took up the issue with the government, she said. On the delay in clearing the Cabinet’s recommendation appointing Kaushik Reddy as MLC, the Governor said she was carefully examining the social service rendered by Reddy since the appointment would be under the social service category in Governor’s quota. She said she had a right as Governor to take some more time to decide on Reddy’s appointment.