KCR's statement on Secretariat razing adds insult to injury, says TPCC Uttam Kumar Reddy

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President and Nalgonda MP Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy has strongly condemned the demolition of places of worship in the Secretariat complex and also described the reaction of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao's on the issue as 'adding insult to the injury'

Uttam Kumar Reddy, in a media statement on Friday, said that the statement given by CM KCR on the damage caused to two mosques and a temple during the demolition of the Secretariat structures was self-contradictory. "It is extremely unfortunate that the temple and mosque in the Secretariat complex, which were considered very sacred by all the government employees and all others in both in erstwhile AP and now separate Telangana, were seriously damaged/ demolished in the ongoing Secretariat demolition. If the Secretariat demolition was bad enough and a Tughlaq like decision, the damage of the temple and mosque has hurt the sentiments of people belonging to all communities," he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Chief Minister's claim that while demolishing the multi-storied old buildings, the temple and mosque adjacent to the old buildings were damaged due to fall of the debris on them proves that demolition was carried out in a haphazard manner. The impact of demolition was not analysed and no precautions were taken to protect the places of worship, which included a heritage structure. He said several laws pertaining to protection of Places of Worship and Preservation of Heritage Structures were violated.

The TPCC Chief said CM's statement assuring construction of a new mosque and temple indicates that the places of worship were completely damaged. Else, the Chief Minister would have assured immediate repair and restoration.