Sounding the BRS poll bugle for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections at a public meeting held in Karimnagar, KCR expressed disappointment over unfulfilled promises of the Congress
Updated On – 12 March 2024, 11:01 PM
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Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday trained his guns on the poor performance of the Congress government, stating that it was neglecting the plight of farmers who were forced to grapple with power and water shortages, leading to the distressing act of burning crops or feeding it to cattle.
“Rather than addressing such issues, the Chief Minister and his Ministers are blaming the BRS regime and using abusive rhetoric and intimidation tactics against those questioning their failures,” he said.
Sounding the BRS poll bugle for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections at a massively attended ‘Kadana Bheri’ public meeting held at the SRR College grounds in Karimnagar, Chandrashekhar Rao expressed disappointment over the unfulfilled promises of the Congress and condemned the hostile response of Congress leaders to queries on delayed deliveries, citing instances of threats and derogatory remarks.
“As a leader of the Telangana movement, I used some strong language against the rulers of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh to highlight our issues. But I never made abusive remarks against my political opponents after becoming the Chief Minister of Telangana. But the current Chief Minister has made it his daily business to blame the previous regime and launch verbal assaults, rather than focusing on delivering his promises,” he said, asking whether Revanth Reddy’s language was befitting that of a Chief Minister.
Emphasising the need for constructive governance, the BRS chief called for a forward-looking approach to tackle inherited challenges, urging the current administration to emulate the BRS’s proactive policies rather than trying to blame it. He pointed out that Telangana was facing multiple challenges when the BRS came to power in 2014 including power and water shortage, financial constraints and administrative chaos.
“I did not spend my tenure blaming the previous governments for the issues plaguing the State. Instead, we took up the challenge and resolved them,” he said.
Chandrashekhar Rao cited the uninterrupted delivery of several schemes including Rythu Bandhu, supply of power, drinking and irrigation water among others even during the Covid-19 pandemic as a testament to effective governance by the BRS. But under the new Congress government, all the facilities created by the previous BRS government were stopped as if someone had pressed a switch, he said, also questioning the police action on social media posts, wondering what the police had to do with politics.
He questioned the State government over not placing orders for Bathukamma sarees, school uniforms and other clothing needs that would have benefited the weavers. He feared that weavers were facing dire situation due to absence of orders that were initiated by the BRS regime.
The former Chief Minister also called attention to the BJP-led Centre’s apathy towards Telangana’s developmental needs including sanction of Navodaya schools, medical colleges and other institutions to the State. He pointed out that the BJP’s MPs including Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay had neither got any works done for the constituency nor raised any issues pertaining to its people in the Parliament.
Chandrashekhar Rao said the BJP had failed the nation despite having abundant resources like 360 billion tonnes of coal, 70,000 TMC of water and over 40 crore acres of cultivable land. With an effective government, he said uninterrupted power could be supplied for the entire country. “People applied the brakes and stopped me in the recent Assembly elections, or else I would have already started touring the entire country to sensitise the nation. No problem. As fighters, we have loads of patience to endure it and more courage to move forward until our goals are achieved,” he added.
The BRS chief reiterated the significance of continuing the agrarian as well as industrial policies pioneered by the BRS, contrasting them with the Congress’s failure to honor commitments such as the promised paddy bonus. The Chief Minister and Ministers were also busy making trips to Delhi, submitting Telangana’s self-respect at the feet of their Delhi leaders, he said. He said neither the Congress nor the BJP leaders had the guts to say ‘Jai Telangana’ in Delhi.
On the Medigadda barrage issue, he said it was just one of over 100 components of the entire Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. He stated that he would soon dispel the false propaganda by the Congress government before the people through the media, pointing out that no one would get their entire teeth removed for the sake of one damaged tooth.
Highlighting the importance of the impending Lok Sabha elections, Chandrashekhar Rao emphasised the need for a strong presence of BRS members in the Lok Sabha to champion Telangana’s interests. He urged voters to elect BRS candidates, cautioning against the Congress’s track record of unfulfilled promises. If people voted to the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, the State government might cite it as approval of its current policies and stop delivering on its promises.
“BRS is Telangana’s strength and voice which cannot be stifled. We need the strong presence of the BRS in both the Assembly and the Parliament to safeguard the State and its people. Never underestimate the power of your vote,” he said.
