Ponnam tears into Harish over ‘false’ charges 

Hyderabad: Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Friday launched a sharp attack on BRS leader T Harish Rao, accusing him of leveling baseless allegations against the Congress  government and attempting to mislead the public. 

Responding to Harish Rao’s remarks over an unanswered phone call, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar questioned whether the BRS leader had answered Rahul Gandhi’s calls, accusing the opposition of creating unnecessary controversy. 

Ponnam asserted that the Congress government believed in democratic politics and did not resort to intimidation or misuse of the police for political purposes. 

Stating that the Congress had consistently fought the BRS even while in the opposition, he said the party relied on its credibility rather than police action to counter political rivals. 

Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Friday, the minister referred to the government’s housing patta distribution programme and said that, as announced, ministers had visited Gun Park, Goshamahal and Malakpet on Thursday to distribute land ownership documents to beneficiaries. 

Responding to Harish Rao’s remarks regarding unanswered phone calls, Ponnam questioned the BRS leader’s criticism. 

“You say Harish Rao’s call was not answered. When Rahul Gandhi called you, did you answer?” the minister asked, alleging that the BRS was trying to create unnecessary controversy. 

Ponnam asserted that the Congress government believed in democratic politics and did not resort to intimidation or misuse of the police. “We are not so cowardly as to use police arrests for political purposes. We have credibility and have fought the BRS even while sitting in the opposition,” he said. 

The minister also rejected criticism directed at senior Congress leaders, saying that both he and Adluri Laxman Kumar had raised through grassroots politics.

“How can you make irresponsible statements simply because those who benefited during your ten years in power are feeding you misinformation?” he asked. 

Refuting allegations of irregularities in government tenders, Ponnam questioned the BRS claim of a Rs 2,000-crore scam. “How can there be a scam worth Rs 2,000 crore when the total value of the tenders is only Rs 1,142 crore?” he asked, accusing the opposition of making exaggerated allegations without factual basis.