I didn’t say anything objectionable to Telangana officer: Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended herself on the allegation of publicly scolding a district collector in Telangana, saying that her language is not objectionable or unparliamentary. He told reporters on Saturday that he did not cross the limits of parliamentary conduct while questioning the Kamareddy district collector about the share of the Center and the state in the supply of ration through the public distribution system.
During a visit to Birkur village in Kamareddy district on Friday, the Union Minister expressed his anger at District Collector Jitesh V. Patil as the Prime Minister’s flex was not displayed at the fair price shop. Sitharaman was visiting the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency under the BJP’s Lok Sabha migration scheme. TRS working president KT Rama Rao said that he was shocked by the indecent behavior of Union Finance Minister K Kamareddy with the District Collector/Collector. Rama Rao congratulated Jitesh Patil for his respectful conduct. He said, ‘I am not here to judge the conduct of the collector. As a public representative, I have every job to ask questions. Tell me if there was anything objectionable, unparliamentary or indecent during the conversation.’ He said, ‘As a public representative, I had asked a question. He could not give any answer. I even said that if you don’t have an answer now, you can come after half an hour.’
He said, ‘You have every right to express your opinion, but as a public representative, I have every task to ask and demand answers. If my language is objectionable then you have the right to question but I have not crossed the limit of parliamentary language. However, the Union minister termed the TRS leader’s claim that the Center should put up banners on all PDS shops in BJP-ruled states and thank Telangana for its contribution. He reiterated that the TRS government is claiming the central schemes as its own. “We don’t mind if you borrow money for a project and use your name for it, but you name the central scheme,” he said. Can’t change it and call it your plan. Sitharaman claimed that after the Narendra Modi government brings about reforms through digitization, the share of the Center and the states in all the schemes will become clear. He also rejected the allegations of discrimination against Telangana in devolution of central taxes by TRS. He said that the transfer is done on a monthly basis as per the formula prepared by the Finance Commission.
