Telangana Minister Konda Surekha's remark triggers row

Hyderabad, May 16 (IANS) Telangana's Minister for Forest, Environment and Endowments Konda Surekha's remark that ministers take money to clear files has triggered a controversy.

The minister made the remark while laying the foundation stone for the building of a government girls' junior college in Warangal on Thursday.

"Since I am the Forest Minister, some companies come to me for file clearances. Usually, ministers take money to clear such files. I tell them they need not give even a new paisa, but should do social service like building a school," she said.

The minister also stated that when a company approached her for approval of a file, she suggested that it construct the college building.

Surekha revealed that the company came forward to construct the building at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore, and she was delighted over this.

The minister's remark triggered a row with the Congress government's critics terming this as an admission of corruption.

However, Surekha claimed that some people completely distorted her comments.

In her post on 'X' on Friday, Surekha said, "I was speaking about ministers in the previous BRS government who would take money to do any work. I made those comments referring to the performance of ministers in the previous BRS government."

"It's not proper to distort my comments," Surekha said, adding that she would provide more details on this issue via a video later in the day.

Controversies are not new for Konda Surekha. Last year, she raked up a huge controversy with her comments blaming Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao for the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

Naga Chaitanya's father and popular actor Nagarjuna Akkineni and Rama Rao have filed separate defamation cases against the minister.

--IANS

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