Minister for Industries, IT and Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao has alleged that the BJP Government at the Centre was acting with a vengeance against Telangana, perhaps worse that it would do with an enemy country, and creating all sorts of troubles.
At a time when the State was witnessing unprecedented floods in the Godavari Basin the Centre was completely unmoved and had not come forward even to release some funds to tackle the situation, Mr. Rama Rao said in a chat with newspersons here on Friday. At the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sanctioned ₹1,000 crore to Gujarat for taking up flood relief measures there.
He sought to know whether it was wrong to create assets by linking development programmes such as construction of Rythu Vedikas, Vaikunta Dhamams, Palle Prakruti Vanalu and others with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The Minister asked whether it would be okay with the Centre to misuse funds as some States were doing by using them as wasteful expenditure.
Mr. Rama Rao stated that it was the Telangana Government that was contributing more to the Centre’s revenue compared to funds shared by the Centre with the State. “In case it is proved that the Centre has given more funds to Telangana than the revenue received it from the Centre, I will quit my job”, he said.
On the talk of early polls, Mr. Rama Rao, who is also working president of TRS, said there was no need for Telangana to go for it and based on information he had, the elections would be held only according to the schedule. However, it was not in the hands of a State Government to announce elections and there was a statutory body for the job, he noted.
Stating that TRS would not fear the attempts of show of strength by BJP with public meetings, Mr. Rama Rao said it was not new to TRS to hold even larger public meetings than the one held by BJP in Parade Grounds. BJP could bait some senior leaders in TRS but those who had belief in TRS ideology would stay back, he said.
On ‘podu’ lands, the Minister said fresh rights over such lands could be given only if the Centre amends the Recognition of Forest Rights Act to extend the cut-off date to at least till 2018 from the existing 2005 as those who who occupied the lands were both tribals and non-tribals. He alleged that the Centre was trying bring in a bill against the rights of tribals while fielding a tribal as a Presidential candidate.
