Telangana CM moves into posh residence; draws flak

Hyderabad, November 24

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday entered his new official residence, said to be the biggest held by any Chief Minister in the country, drawing flak from the opposition.

Accompanied by his wife Shobha Rao, son K.T. Rama Rao, a cabinet minister, and other family members, KCR stepped into the dream house at 5.22 a.m. amid the chanting of Vedic hymns by priests.

 (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The new complex, spread over 10 acres of land and about one lakh square feet built-up space, has come up close to the existing camp office-cum-residence of the Chief Minister in Begumpet.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, and his wife participated in "Sudarshana Yagnam" conducted under the supervision of seer Chinna Jeeyar Swamy.

As part of the "griha pravesh" (house warming ceremony), the couple performed "Daiva Pravesam", "Yati Pravesam", "Go pravesam" and "Pravesam" (formally entering) ceremonies.

Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, his wife Vimala Narasimhan, KCR's daughter and MP K. Kavitha, nephew and state minister Harish Rao and state ministers and top officials attended the ceremony.

Estimated to have been built at a cost of over Rs 40 crore, the complex, "Pragathi Bhavan", comprises the CM's residence, office, conference hall and the two existing buildings.

Soon after forming the first government in newly created Telangana state in 2014, KCR had started work on the new residence.

A firm believer in "vaastu", the ancient system of architecture, KCR had reluctantly moved into the existing camp office after removing 'vaastu defects'.

The "vaastu" advisors of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief had advised him against occupying the existing camp office built in 2004 by then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at a cost of Rs.8.10 crore.

KCR considered the building "inauspicious" as Rajasekhara Reddy had reportedly moved in without performing rituals and he died in a helicopter crash a few months after returning to power in 2009.

His successor K. Roshaiah also could not complete the term while Kiran Kumar Reddy faced a turbulent time as the last Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The Telangana CM had been using only residential part of the complex both as residence and office but never used the camp office.

KCR is facing flak from the opposition for what they said was a waste of public money on a new building though the existing residence was in good condition.

Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir said KCR was doing a Nero. He said the CM moved into a five-star bungalow with bullet-proof toilet and bedrooms at a time when people were suffering due to demonetization of high value currency.

Shabbir, who is leader of the opposition in the state assembly, said KCR moved into posh new house while his poll promise to build 2.6 lakh double-bedroom houses for poor remained unfulfilled.

Activists of Telugu Nadu Students Federation (TNSF), the youth wing of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), tried to lay siege to the new residence of KCR as a mark of protest.

Police arrested the TNSF activists who raised slogans against the Chief Minister.

The protestors said the government had no money to pay towards arrears for the reimbursement of students' fee but spent huge money on the new residence.

—IANS