Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao is finally making moves to repair the damage caused by the Neralla incident, but the efforts are a day late and a dollar short. The incident definitely put the local MLA in fix. Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, he said that the people of Nerella set ablaze the lorries in a fit of rage.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s responded very aggressively and the question “if Dalit will be written on forehead” is deplorable. KTR did not speak a word even though he represents the constituency. However, on Wednesday he said, that Opposition leaders have been visiting the place, so he had to delay his meeting with the victims.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar visiting the place and sharing sorrow of the victims turned the incident into a national issue. It was followed by opposition knocking the doors of NHRC and High Court. KTR underestimated the entire episode. His initial response was very aggressive which was followed by controversial remarks by Chief Minister.
With the intensity of the event snowballing each day, KTR finally started giving deferential responses. However, he is rejecting the claims of sand mafia. He said that details of the lorries and the names of the contractors will be revealed soon. The Minister came down heavily on opposition terming them as “tourists”, said that they are trying to portray the incident as a nationality issue. He said that the case cannot be seen as an attack on the Dalits.
The Minister of IT said that he wasn’t aware of the police taking people into custody. He said that the problem was exposed only after the remand was rejected. He said that there was no need for third-degree torture and that police overacted evident from the victims’ terrible situation. He assured that once the report from DIG is given, action will be taken accordingly.
Neither KCR nor KTR spoke about the villagers who were killed due to the rash driving of the lorry drivers which was the main reason for the villages to set fire to the lorries. Nonetheless overconfident KTR and TRS government should have responded to the incident immediately.
