HYDERABAD: Amid all-round criticism of the controversial GO 938 on Friday, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy tried to play down the issue by accusing the opposition parties of `blowing it out of proportion'.

"As the Government has already withdrawn the GO, heavens will not fall and there is no need for the media to get agitated," Dr. Reddy said.

The Chief Secretary had been asked to inquire as to how the order was issued without the knowledge of the Chief Minister's Office, Dr. Reddy told reporters.

"As soon as I realised the contents of the GO are objectionable, I immediately ordered its cancellation. It is normal for the Government to cancel some of the orders that are routinely issued. Every year thousands of GOs are issued by various departments and it is not necessary to bring them all to my notice," he said.

He pointed out that the previous Telugu Desam Government had introduced a Bill to facilitate filing of defamation cases against the press but withdrew it hastily. "There is a procedure to introduce a Bill in the Assembly after the heads of department, Cabinet, Chief Minister and Law Department go through it," he said.

`No harassment'

"Why were the political parties and media silent then?" he asked. He asserted that there was no attempt on his part to harass or target the media for its editorial policies.

He recalled a statement of former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Assembly that a Government Order on payment of compensation to those displaced by the Yeleru project was issued without his prior knowledge.

He also cited another example of the issue of a GO on the power projects of GVK and Spectrum without Mr. Naidu's. He even pulled up his special secretary at an all-party meeting.

`Wasting time'

At another press conference, Government Chief Whip N. Kiran Kumar Reddy charged the Opposition with wasting the time of the House. He accused the TDP of failing to give notice to discuss the Margadarsi Financiers issue under rule 304.

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