More than 90% of people who participated in the people’s ballot conducted by the Congress party on the proposal for a new Secretariat at Bison Polo Ground wanted the Government to function from the existing Secretariat only. The polling was held at 20 places in the city under the initiative taken by former MP V. Hanumantha Rao and the counting was done in the Press Club, Hyderabad, in the presence of senior journalists. Out of the 18,460 people who voted 17,892 said there was no need for a new Secretariat while only 387 favoured a new one. While 39 people chose NOTA 142 votes were declared invalid. Mr. Hanumantha Rao said the response was overwhelming against the Government’s proposal for a new Secretariat. The Opposition parties have been agitating against the proposal saying it was nothing but a wastage of public money while such a huge lung space like Bison Polo Ground would vanish from the midst of the city. The parties have alleged that the new Secretariat was being taken up only to fulfil the belief of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao in Vaastu so that his son can succeed him.
Mr. Rao said the present Secretariat is more than sufficient as it accommodated the combined Andhra Pradesh earlier and even half of it can suffice the needs of Telangana.