The remarks made by Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar have further embarrassed the Revanth government, which is reeling under the allegations of Miss England Mila Maggi and the criticism from the opposition.
At a media conference on the Miss World 2025 pageant, when a reporter asked, “Is there any plan to organize beauty pageants again during your tenure?”, Minister Ponnam bombarded the media by saying, “No way. They won’t come. They won’t come even if you ask them”.
For 74 years, the ‘Miss World Organization’ has been successfully organizing beauty pageants. But, for the first time, the Miss World pageant held in Hyderabad was a disgrace. Due to the Revanth government’s excessive interference and lack of understanding, international level pageants were conducted like street competitions.
They acted in a way that insulted the culture of Telangana. There have been allegations that some government officials and their close associates behaved rudely towards the contestants. Miss England Mila Maggie was moved to tears over the harassment she faced in Hyderabad. She felt that she was treated like a prostitute.
While the government claimed that organizing the competitions would bring in investments of crores of rupees, at least sponsors did not come forward to organize the competitions. To raise funds, banquets and special programs were organized with celebrities from various fields. In this, the contestants were made the attraction.
Usually, wherever beauty pageants are held, the Miss World Organization and agencies take care of the competitions. Only the governments of the respective states stand by in terms of security. But in Telangana, on the contrary, the government organized the beauty pageants itself. There are allegations that more than Rs. 200 crores were spent.
Although there have been occasions when government officials participated in the opening ceremony, they did not attend the competitions until the end, which was not seen in previous competitions held in Bengaluru and Mumbai in India. But, Telangana ministers and other public representatives have devoted their full time to beauty pageants. The CM, ministers and MLAs participated in every event from the invitation to the farewell of the contestants.
The Chief Minister himself is facing criticism for participating in beauty pageants four times. He was present in the Chowmahalla Palace banquet where Milla Maggi had a bitter experience. What has the state gained from beauty pageants? What has it achieved by wasting Rs. 200 crores? BRS Social Media Convener Satish Reddy questioned the government. He demanded to know how many thousands of crores of rupees were invested in the Miss World contest.