Bhatti and Harish in war of words over projects

Hyderabad: The Legislative Assembly on Saturday witnessed heated exchanges between finance minister T. Harish Rao and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who was also involved in a war of words with IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.

Bhatti took the state government to task while accusing it of failing to complete even one irrigation project in the last eight years but making false claims on Kaleshwaram project irrigating lakhs of acres and ‘fast-paced’ works on the Palamuru Rangareddy project.

Bhatti said only barrages were built as part of Kaleshwaram project but no additional ayacut was brought under this project since the distributary network is yet to be completed. He said that the pump houses at Kaleshwaram project were submerged after Godavari floods. When opposition parties tried to visit the site, the government prevented them by deploying heavy police force and arresting them, he said.

"All the projects that are in operation at present were built by the Congress governments. The BRS government has done nothing except making tall claims on Kaleshwaram and Palamur RR projects. If this is not true then why were you preventing opposition leaders from visiting Kaleshwaram. Is this because you fear that the truth will come out if we visit?" Bhatti asked.

Harish said that the government prevented opposition leaders because they were trying to 'politicise' the issue when pump houses were submerged.
"Godavari witnessed unprecedented heavy floods last year. It was a natural calamity. But opposition parties tried to project it as a human error and attributed it a BRS government’s failure," Harish Rao said.

Bhatti's comments that Congress will return to power at the State and the Centre in the next nine months and will complete all pending development works sparked off a heated debate with BRS members.

Intervening in the matter, Rama Rao said, "Infants may come in nine months but Congress will never come to power in nine months. Congress ruled for 55 years and BRS is just eight years old. How can you compare the achievements of each other?"

While replying to the debate on medical and health, minister Harish Rao said that the government is planning to bring in a new Act to regulate private hospitals in the state. He was responding to concerns expressed by the opposition benches at the open loot by private hospitals in the absence of government regulation.