CM-Centric Decisions? Telangana Ticket Hike Storm Deepens!
In the government, the responsibilities of each department are handled only by the minister in charge of that department. Other ministers do not have the opportunity to interfere in it. If necessary, the authority to intervene in any department rests only with the Chief Minister. In the matter of the movie ticket price hike that has been creating a stir in Telangana over the past few days, the concerned minister, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, has virtually dropped a bomb on the government. Minister Komatireddy clarified that since the Pushpa 2 controversy, he had instructed that files related to movie ticket price hikes and premiere shows should not be sent to him at all. On the other hand, Komatireddy categorically stated that he did not sign any files related to ticket price hikes for Sankranti movies. He said that he did not give permission to even a single film. As a result, this issue has now become a hot topic in Telangana government and political circles. Especially after the Telangana High Court strongly criticized the government in the Raja Saab matter, ticket prices were increased and permission was also granted for special shows for Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu, starring Chiranjeevi.
With the minister himself stating that he did not grant permission to any film, this entire issue has now become crucial. According to this, a senior minister revealed that all movie deals must have taken place only on the orders of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and that no official has the opportunity to take decisions independently. During the Pushpa 2 controversy, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced on the floor of the Assembly that as long as he remained Chief Minister, there would be no permission for premiere shows or ticket price hikes. But within a few days of this, even the statement he made on the floor of the Assembly was contradicted. Now, with the Cinematography Department Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy himself saying that he did not give any permissions, government sources are also saying that there is no chance of this entire matter happening without the approval of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy alone.
In matters related to films, Congress leaders are also saying that a person who is constantly by the Chief Minister’s side has become crucial, and that all these dealings are happening under his watch. There is also a discussion that the reason the ticket price hike memo for Raja Saab was withheld until midnight on Thursday, while permission was given much earlier for Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu, lies in behind-the-scenes dealings becoming crucial. A few months ago, Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao also expressed severe anger over permissions being granted to distilleries without his knowledge. However, at that time it was said that this decision too was taken on the orders of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Even so, since the minister expressed his anger strongly at the officials rather than directly at the Chief Minister, the decision regarding these distillery permissions was kept pending at that time. This has led to discussions among ministers that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is directly taking decisions wherever there is an opportunity. There is widespread talk that the same situation exists in several matters in the Industries Department as well. Official circles are also abuzz with reports that Industries and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu is highly dissatisfied with the decisions being taken by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
