IAS officer touches Telangana CM’s feet at an official function, draws criticism from opposition

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Opposition leaders in Telangana on Monday criticised Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the state after an officer was seen touching the feet of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at an official function.

At an event in Siddipet on Sunday, district collector Venkatrama Reddy touched the feet of the Chief Minister, who was there to inaugurate a newly constructed Collectorate building.

Defending the move, Reddy said that Rao was like a father to him and he was taking blessings from him on the occasion of Father’s Day.

“Before taking up my duties as the collector of the district, I took blessings from Chief Minister KCR who is like a father- equal figure to me . There is nothing to talk about. I took his blessings on the auspicious day of Father’s Day,” he said.

Rao faced criticism from Congress and BJP leaders. Congress National Spokesperson Sravan Dasoju, meanwhile, said that IAS officers in the state had become ‘slaves and puppets’, and the Collector should not have touched his feet at an official function.

“IAS officers in Telangana are forgetting that they are custodians of the Constitution. They have become slaves and puppets in the hands of Chief Minister KCR. If the CM is like your father you should have gone to his house to touch his feet, not in a public official function. What message does this convey to the public?” he asked.

Reacting to the incident, BJP Chief Spokesperson K Krishna Sagar Rao accused the Chief Minister of promoting a ‘new bureaucratic culture’ in the state.

“If these IAS officers have such respect towards the CM, then they should have touched his feet privately and not in a public official function. Such acts deteriorate the integrity, independence and professionalism of IAS officers,” he said.

Hitting out at the Chief Minister for the management of the COVID-19 lockdown, he said, “On one extreme, KCR did not bring in a lockdown until he was forced by the High Court of Telangana and on the other hand, he lifts lockdown restrictions in one go and puts the outcomes of lockdown to a complete waste.” Sagar Rao further said that while most of the virologist and medical experts have been warning and advising increased cautious, especially for children, the Chandrasekhar Rao had opened schools, including primary and pre-primary.