BRS leaders flay Congress govt over insult to Telangana women at Miss World event

Speaking at Telangana Bhavan, former MLA Gongidi Sunitha also took exception to allowing beauty contestants to play Bathukamma with footwear

Hyderabad: BRS leaders launched a fierce attack on the Congress government, holding it responsible for insulting the culture and women of Telangana during the Miss World pre-event in Warangal. They said that the Congress government was misusing public funds for beauty contest, while ignoring basic needs of women, farmers, and poor.

Speaking at Telangana Bhavan on Thursday, former MLA Gongidi Sunitha found fault with the government for making Telangana women wash the feet of foreign beauty pageant participants. She took exception to allowing beauty contestants to play Bathukamma with footwear. “Bathukamma is a goddess to Telangana women. How can sandal-wearing contestants are made to perform it?” she asked, demanding an apology from Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

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She also questioned the silence of BJP leaders over the insult to deities. She slammed the government’s lavish spending on Miss World event. “Around Rs 200 crore was spent to host beauty pageant, while farmers in Mulugu lost 200 acres of paddy to floods. Couldn’t that money have helped farmers?” she said.

Palvai Sravanthi called the foot-washing a blot on Telangana’s self-respect and questioned why the Mahalakshmi scheme benefits were not extended to Telangana women till date.

BRS leader Y Satish Reddy drew comparisons to the Formula-E race organised by former Minister KT Rama Rao, which generated business worth Rs 700 crore in Telangana. “What has Telangana gained from this ₹200 crore beauty show?” he asked.