The inauguration planned for the new secretariat of Telangana has been put off in view of the model code of conduct that came into effect after the Election Commission notified MLC elections for two posts slated for 13 March.

Meanwhile, BRS minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday slammed both the BJP and its state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar as “destructive forces” following his comments on demolishing the domes of the new Secretariat which he said were symbols of the Nizam culture.

The state government had approached the ECI to exempt the inauguration of the secretariat named after BR Ambedkar. According to a statement from the chief minister’s office, “State chief secretary consulted with the Central Election Commission about the opening ceremony of the Secretariat which was already decided on 17 February. As the response received from the Commission was not promising the already announced state secretariat inauguration programme has been postponed for the time being.”

The newly-constructed secretariat has turned out to be an imposing edifice by the iconic Hussain Sagar Lake with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi even comparing it with the Taj Mahal. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had been keen on inaugurating it on his birthday, 17 February.

Rao had planned a grand ceremony in the presence of chief minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren, deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejaswi Yadav and president of Janata Dal (United) Lalan Singh. Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of BR Ambedkar after whom the building was named was also invited for the inauguration ceremony.

The BRS had also planned to hold a huge public rally on 17 February at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad. In an election year, the party was not only planning to mobilize 10,000 people from each constituency, particularly from the Greater Hyderabad area. It is not known whether the public rally will be cancelled as well.

Rao would become the longest serving chief minister in Hyderabad on 14 March surpassing N Chandrababu Naidu who had held the record as the chief minister of the unified state. The BRS had planned to mark the event at his new office in the rebuilt secretariat.

Meanwhile, the debate over the domes of the New Secretariat, which earned the ire of the BJP state president as a symbol of Nizam culture, rages on in social media. The BRS has mocked Bandi Sanjay Kumar for saying that the domes will be demolished if the BJP comes to power and posted pictures of temples and palaces with similar architectural features.