Hyderabad, Feb 10: Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Friday said his party would demolish the domes of the state's new Secretariat building if it gets elected to power, and make changes to it to reflect the culture of Telangana along with that of the country.

Addressing a street corner meeting at Old Bowenpally here as part of 'Janam Gosa-BJP Bharosa' (people's suffering - BJP's assurance) campaign, he disapproved of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurating the new Secretariat on the latter's birthday on February 17.

The Secretariat building, named after Babasaheb Ambedkar by the BRS government, should be inaugurated on April 14, Ambedkar's birth anniversary, Kumar said.

The BRS government has increased the expenditure estimates to build the Secretariat from Rs 400 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, the Karimnagar Lok Sabha member alleged.

"With Rs 1,500 crore, he is building Secretariat like Taj Mahal. Once BJP government is formed, we will definitely demolish those domes. We will change the Secretariat in such a way that it reflects Telangana and Indian culture," he said.

Referring to AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's reported reported comments that the new Secretariat has been built magnificently, like a Taj Mahal, he alleged that Rao is trying to please Owaisi and that Taj Mahal is actually a 'samadhi'.

He also said Pragati Bhavan, the Chief Minister's camp office-cum-official residence here, would be converted into a 'Praja Darbar'.

Alleging that AIMIM is not sincere about the welfare of minorities, he asked as to why youth from the old city of Hyderabad are not getting jobs.

The BJP leader slammed the ruling BRS for not implementing its election promises like making a Dalit leader as chief minister, providing financial support to unemployed youth and for alleged poor implementation of 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme among others.

The BJP, if elected to power in the state, would provide free education and health to poor, Kumar added.

Meanwhile, the ruling BRS found fault with Kumar's comments that the domes of the Secretariat would be demolished.

In an apparent reference to Kumar's remarks, Telangana Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said the opposition parties talked about demolitions and that they lacked a constructive approach.

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Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.

Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.

On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.

Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”

Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”

Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.

In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.

The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.

Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.

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