Hyderabad Mayor clarifies no rain remark

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi on Tuesday made a U-turn on her earlier statement, claiming the remarks were twisted out of context. She shared a video with an explanation, saying what she had intended to say was that “Hyderabad should not be flooded again.”

The clarification came after she had courted controversy for saying: “I pray to God that there should not be any rains for five years from now,” to a TV reporter on Monday. The video of her comment went viral on social media. 

“My words were distorted, and the statement went viral on social media. All I meant to say was the city should not be flooded again. I did not want Hyderabad to have no rains,” Vijayalakshmi wrote in a letter addressed to media representatives. She also claimed she had nothing to do with the transfer of Shaikpet tahsildar N Srinivasa Reddy, with whom she had quarrelled in January.