Hyderabad: Former minister T Harish Rao alleged that the Congress party had backed out of the public debate it had itself proposed on the issues of state debt and alleged irregularities in Gurukul tenders. The BRS leader, who was taken into custody by the police while proceeding to Gun Park to meet ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and others.Addressing a news conference in the evening, Harish Rao said the govt had issued repeated public challenges but failed to appear for the debate. He said BRS leaders, including himself and K.T. Rama Rao, were present at Telangana Bhavan, but Congress leaders failed to honour their own challenge.He said minister Jupally Krishna Rao initially alleged that the previous BRS govt had burdened Telangana with ₹8 lakh crore of debt but later reduced the figure to ₹7 lakh crore, questioning the credibility of the govt’s allegations.The BRS deputy leader said the state govt prevented the debate by deploying the police and obstructing BRS leaders from reaching the designated venue. He alleged that the govt’s actions demonstrated its unwillingness to defend its claims in public.Referring to the alleged irregularities in Gurukul tenders, Harish Rao said he, along with BRS leaders R.S. Praveen Kumar and Koppula Eshwar, had presented documentary evidence regarding alleged irregularities in the procurement process. He alleged that the govt’s refusal to participate in the debate had effectively exposed the irregularities.He further alleged that tenders for groceries, uniforms, footwear, notebooks and other supplies meant for Gurukul institutions had been manipulated, resulting in substantial financial loss to the state. He claimed that inflated procurement costs in items such as edible oils, spices and other essential supplies had caused significant loss to the exchequer.Harish Rao said the previous BRS govt had introduced policies to protect the livelihood of Telangana’s handloom workers by ensuring that uniform orders for police, schools and Gurukul institutions were routed through designated State agencies. He alleged that the state govt ignored these policies and awarded contracts to large private contractors.He stated that the Telangana High Court had repeatedly directed the govt to protect the interests of handloom workers and implement the existing govt orders. Despite these directions, he alleged, the govt failed to comply, forcing handloom societies to approach the High Court once again.Harish Rao also alleged that procurement orders meant for LIDCAP, which benefits Dalit entrepreneurs, had been diverted in violation of existing govt policy. He questioned how the govt could deny irregularities when LIDCAP itself had formally represented that it had received such orders during the previous BRS govt.He further alleged that irregularities in notebook procurement were exposed after BRS questioned the introduction of a watermark condition, following which the tenders were cancelled. He claimed that this delay had affected the timely supply of notebooks to school students.ends/