Telangana Miss World: Congress government downplays Miss England row; tries to accuse victim of bribery

Milla Magee, who exited from the competition on May 16, alleged that she was asked to socialise with a few men as a sign of gratitude for their financial sponsorship of the event being organised by the State government

Hyderabad: The Congress government, stung by the negative publicity it got on the international stage after the Miss World competition hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, on Sunday began targeting Miss England Milla Magee, accusing her of making baseless allegations and going to the extent of suggesting that some statements could have been made on offer of money.

Milla Magee, who exited from the competition on May 16, in an interview with British tabloid ‘The Sun’, had alleged that she was asked to socialise with a few men as a sign of gratitude for their financial sponsorship of the event being organised by the State government. She had gone to the extent of saying that she was made to “feel like a prostitute”.

With the episode turning out to be a major embarrassment for Telangana on the global stage, the State government, which is yet to constitute any probe committee despite serious allegations, got Special Chief Secretary (Tourism) Jayesh Ranjan to do damage control. Ranjan, who condemned Magee’s allegations calling them baseless, claimed that he had done a “personal enquiry” and “found no basis in her allegations”.

Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’ too, Ranjan said the same, that he had “personally conducted a detailed enquiry and found no basis in her allegations.”

The government also released a video of a dinner, stating that it was the only dinner that Magee attended, and that the visuals had no confirmation of her allegations, with Magee seen with a senior IAS official and his family. Speaking to a vernacular news channel, Ranjan said Magee had participated in only one dinner programme at Chowmohalla Palace and left for England citing “personal reasons”.

The government also got Ranjan to target ‘The Sun’, stating that the tabloid to which she spoke “had good history and generally did not sensationalise”. However, there were instances of “people offering money” and “getting others to make such statements”, he said, reiterating that there was not even one per cent of truth in the Miss England’s allegations.

He also said officials spoke to other contestants, including from different territories from the UK. “I spoke to the contestants from Scotland and Northern Ireland and they said they had not faced any issues at all,” Ranjan said in the televised interview.

Stating that there were a few events left and that the grand finale was scheduled for May 31, the Special Chief Secretary said he would share all facts surrounding the controversy after the competition was over. “Currently, I do not want to waste my time in unnecessary issues and get distracted,” Ranjan said.

There were reports of a few senior women IPS officers talking to some contestants. However, there is no official confirmation of the same, with the State government yet to come out with a proper official response to the allegations despite those tarnishing Telangana’s image on the global stage.