Telangana Governor expresses doubts of her phone being tapped
Hyderabad, Nov 9: In an open face-off with the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Wednesday expressed doubts that her phones are being tapped.
Soundararajan, who addressed a press conference here, alleged that there were some social media posts by ruling TRS linking Raj Bhavan with the recent "TRS MLAs poaching case".
"I doubt (that) my phones are tapped. Undemocratic situation is there in the state, particularly in respecting the Governor. I want to clarify all those things," she said, asserting that her office functioned transparently.
Observing that it was wrongly projected that she was sitting on some Bills, the Governor clarified that there was no delay in approving it and that she wanted to go through the draft laws thoroughly.
Referring to the reported comments of Education Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy that the Governor was misleading people and that no letter seeking clarifications on certain issues was received from Raj Bhavan, Soundararajan said the letter was sent to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and expressed surprise over the delay in the letter reaching the minister.
"Before meeting the press, she (Reddy) should have verified whether Raj Bhavan has written a letter. Without verifying, they want to degrade the pride of this office. So, I wanted to convey this to the press and the people of Telangana," Soundararajan said.
The government spoke about protocols, she said and asked as to what action has been taken on officials over violating such protocols during her visits to several districts.
Referring to reports of some students' unions planning to organise a protest outside Raj Bhavan, she said the doors of the governor's house are open unlike 'Pragati Bhavan' (the Chief Minister's camp office-cum-official residence).
The students of several institutions had met her to express their grievances and who motivated these students' unions concerned to agitate when they were not prevented from meeting her, she said.
Relations between Raj Bhavan and the TRS government have not been on the best of terms for quite some time now and Soundararajan had earlier complained of protocol not being followed during her visits to the districts.
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26 killed, 61 injured in blast at fireworks factory in China
Beijing (PTI): At least 26 people were killed and 61 others injured in a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in China's Hunan province, officials said on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred on Monday afternoon at the plant operated by the Huasheng fireworks manufacturing and display company in Liuyang, a county-level city under Changsha, the provincial capital.
Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed massive destruction of property spanning several kilometres.
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More than 480 rescuers, organised into five teams, have been deployed for relief operations, with three rescue robots pressed into service.
Officials said 26 people were killed and 61 others were injured. The injured have been rushed to hospitals for treatment, while a second round of search operations is underway.
China is a leading manufacturer and exporter of fireworks.
As the explosion site is located near two black powder warehouses, the rescuers have evacuated nearby residents and set up a buffer zone to prevent a secondary accident, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched experts to the scene to guide rescue efforts.
The person in charge of the company has been detained by police and the cause of the accident is being investigated, the report said.
