Hyderabad: BJP floor leader A Maheshwar Reddy’s remarks on portfolios allocated to BC ministers drew the ire of ministers D Sridhar Babu, Vakiti Srihari and Ponnam Prabhakar in the assembly on Wednesday. During the motion of thanks to the governor’s address, Maheshwar Reddy, referring to animal husbandry minister Vaikiti Srihari, said that BC ministers were given insignificant portfolios and did not have any work.Taking strong exception to the remarks, minister Sridhar Babu said no ministry or portfolio is insignificant or irrelevant. “Bandi Sanjay, who also belongs to the BC community, is one of the Union ministers from the state. He is a minister of state in the Union cabinet. Why was he not made a cabinet minister directly by PM Narendra Modi? It is the prerogative of the CM in the state and PM at the Centre,” he said, while demanding an apology from the BJP MLA.Earlier, Maheshwar said the govt had failed to fulfil some promises and questioned why Rythu Bharosa funds had not yet been released. He said nearly one crore acres of land had been put on the prohibitory list, causing problems for farmers. He also alleged that the govt had not cleared the bills of retired employees and serving staff for the past two years. Intervening, transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that instead of criticising the Telangana govt, BJP MPs and MLAs should work towards securing funds from the Centre. “The Centre has not been supporting the state, while extending support to the neighbouring state as it relies on the AP govt at the Centre,” Prabhakar said. Maheshwar said the BJP was ready to provide details of central assistance to the state and claimed that about Rs 11 lakh crore had been given to Telangana over the past 12 years. He added that even some Telangana ministers had acknowledged the Centre’s support for state schemes and projects.
