home secretary G K pillai, one of the most senior most bureaucrat would surely has his foot in his mouth

Union Home secretary G K pillai has beocome the latest official to first make a statement and then claim he never said it...but media busts his claim
what the home secretary claimed in clarification and what he actually said
jupinderjit singh


Home Secretary G K Pillai claimed in the evening that he did not state that Hyderabad would be the Capital of Telangana.
However, television recording suggested otherwise.

This was what he said in his clarification statement :

"In response to a question from a journalist that the proponents for the State of Telangana had wanted Hyderabad to be its Capital, Home Secretary had stated that this was what they wanted. The issue of the Capital for the proposed new State of Telangana for which steps have been initiated is a matter that is to be decided by consensus and by the Government of India."

This is what he said talking to journalists :

Ques one : what would be the govt strategy on Telangana?

Home Secretary : The Home Minister has already made a statement that the initiative of the formation of telanagna has already been started and I am sure, in the coming days, as the people understand the real implications of what is meant, I think the agitation would die down and the process of formation of telangana would continue.

Ques two: What would be the future of Hyderabad?

Home Secretary : Hyderabad, I think, would always be the capital of Telangana.

EOM
THIS HAPPENED EARLIER

-----Union home secretary gave hyderabad to telangana on his own, only to take it back in the evening

Jupinderjit Singh



‘Hyderabad will always be the capital of Telangana’ said the Union Home Secretary G K Pillai today in Jammu and set off protests in Andhra Pradesh and horror in New Delhi. By Friday evening, a chastened Home Secretary, still in Jammu, issued a statement withdrawing his statement and declared, " the capital of Telangana will be decided by consensus."

Pillai on a two-day visit to J & K to review the security situation and possibility of withdrawing more troops, was answering questions to a select group of the media outside the police Control Room.

On a TV channel’s footage the Union Home Secretary appeared to make not one but two damaging statements. Asked to comment on the situation in Andhra Pradesh, he casually replied that the agitation would "die down on its own" as people gradually realise the "real implications" of a separate state of Telangana.

The second was of course his faux pas on Hyderabad when asked about the future of the city. Curiously, the top bureaucrat in the Union Home Ministry appeared oblivious to what was happening in Andhra Pradesh since the morning.

As Pillai’s statement was flashed on TV channels, the reaction in Andhra Pradesh was one of disbelief. Did he really say it , was the most frequently asked question. The future of Hyderabad is being furiously debated with a large section in the city demanding that it be converted into a Union Territory. There is also a possibility that it will remain the capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as and when the separate state is created.

The Prime Minister on Friday reassured Andhra MPs in New Delhi that no hasty decision would be taken on Telangana. In Hyderabad the AP Chief Minister declared that unless there was a consensus there was no question of moving any resolution on statehood. In this context, Pillai’s statement appeared completely out of place.

--------



The Home secretary categorically announced that the " quiet diplomacy" underway in the state to find a solution of the Kashmnir issue would continue irrespective of attacks on Hurriyat leaders.

" The dialogue must continue as it is the only way to find peace," he said when asked if there was change in government strategy after attack on Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq Quereshi in Srinagar, who was participating in the talks.

The Home Secretary also said borders of the country would be strengthened further as there was no change in the attitude of Pakistan, " The infiltration bids from across the borders were continuing." He said

The Home Secretary would visit some border villages tomorrow besides chairing a meeting of Bureucrats in the civil secretariat over the utilisation of cente govt funds for various schemes.

Meanwhile, J and K DGP Kuldeep Khoda, has reportedly asserted that the police force was fully capable to take over the security of the state. Khoda told this in a meeting with the Home Secretary. The issue cropped up during discussion of the withdrawl of Army and para-military troops from the state.

The state Chief Minister Omar Abduallah has been vociferously demanding withdrawl of troops or sending them back to the barracks to show the "real" picture of normalcy in the state.

Interestingly, the entire minute by minute programme of the itinerary of the two day visit of the Home Secretary and the venues, including on which floor of a building he would take a meeting, were published in a local daily, much to the embarrassment to the security agencies.

A general itinerary of a VIP is available but the manner in which details were available with the likely routes suggest a security lapse," said a police official on condition of anonymity.

EOM