Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 28 (ANI): A major political controversy has erupted in Telangana after a serving official from Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's Office (CMO) conducted a training session at the Congress party's state headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, in Hyderabad on Thursday.
According to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), a Group 1 officer currently serving as the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) to the Chief Minister, Malsur, visited Gandhi Bhavan and participated in a crucial meeting focused on the party's communication strategy alongside Congress MP and Party Communication In-Charge Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy.
The issue came to light after MP Kiran Kumar Reddy shared photographs of the meeting on social media platform X, where Malsur was visibly present alongside party leaders.
In his initial post, the Congress MP wrote, "We discussed key political issues, strategies for handling debates and press meets, and effective ways to develop strong, fact-based content for public communication."
However, the Congress MP later deleted the post and re-uploaded it after removing Malsur's name and the pictures in which the government official appeared.
The updated post read, "Led a great discussion today with senior INC Telangana spokesperson and Gandhi Bhawan PRO Shri Hari Prasad Garu and the media team. We focused on key political strategies, media debate dynamics, and developing strong, fact-based public content. The entire session was excellent and crucial for elevating our communication strategy to effectively present Congress Government's impactful work."
Targeting the state government, BRS spokesperson M Krishank, in a post on social media platform X stated that, "Can a Government Official run a training camp in a Party Office? Malsur, Group 1 Officer & currently posted as CPRO of CM Revanth conducted training to Media & Social Media at Gandhi Bhavan. This sets a very bad example."
Reaction to the situation, Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy, another BRS spokesperson, said, "The Chief PRO to the Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy, is reportedly being seen sitting in Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress Party headquarters, and is giving sermons to the Congress Party's media and social media teams on how to counter the BRS party in debates on social media."
Questioning the presence of the official, Vishnuvardhan Reddy further added, "We would like to ask a simple question. Is the Chief PRO to the Chief Minister a government employee or a Congress Party functionary? Is he being paid from the taxes paid by the four crore people of Telangana or from the pockets of Revanth Reddy? Since his salary, his allowance, his perks, everything is borne by the state exchequer. This is nothing but a blatant misuse of government machinery."
The presence of a serving CMO official at Gandhi Bhavan has triggered a political controversy in the state, with the opposition BRS questioning Malsur's participation in a meeting concerning the Congress party's communication strategy. (ANI)
BRS attacks Telangana govt after CMO official participates in Congress communication strategy meeting
