Pragati Bhavan becomes focal point in Telangana elections

​Hyderabad: Pragati Bhavan, the official home of the caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in Begumpet, is becoming the talking point in the ongoing campaign for Telangana elections. Pragati Bhavan, which KCR referred to as Telangana Pride in Assembly, is finding a regular mention in the speeches of opposition leaders. 

The Congress, TJS, TDP, CPI and even the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to attack Chandrashekar Rao and the TRS government as far as Pragati Bhavan is concerned. Leaders are taking Rao to task questioning the need to construct a palatial building for him and side-lining the TRS flagship scheme of two-bedroom houses for poor. The parties forming ‘Mahakutami’ have decided not to utilise this building spread over a sprawling nine acres as the official residence of the next Chief Minister if voted to power.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and other Congress leaders said on many occasions that they want to transform it into a State hospital. Alliance partner TJS, however, is proposing the establishment of a Telangana Museum in Pragati Bhavan. The new political outfit in Telangana has even included this proposal in its manifesto.

It may be recalled that during a debate in the Assembly, K Chandrashekar Rao said that Pragati Bhavan was not his own building. Pragati Bhavan is the property of the State of Telangana and all future Chief Ministers will be staying in it, Rao said at that time. He further added that it was a public office and was built with an aim to ensure common people had easy access to it.

Rao made these comments while reacting to Congress MLA Komatireddy Venkatreddy statement that Chief Minister built a 150-room palace wasting hundreds of crores of public money. While KCR wants all parties to utilise this new structure with ample space, opposition parties are in no mood to follow his suggestion. The hate feeling towards Pragati Bhavan is there for everyone to see, but what is interesting is Mahakutami parties having different ideas about its usage in future.

When asked a senior TJS leader said that there is a consensus among Mahakutami parties on not to utilise Pragati Bhavan as CM’s residence or as an administrative centre for the government if voted to power. “As regards different proposals made by each party the issue would be sorted out in future. We will hold consultations and deliberate on how it could be better utilised. The opinion of all would be taken and a final decision arrived with acceptance of everyone,” the leader said.