Democracy in the country is in danger and it is the duty of the people to fight the forces that are hell bent on taking the country towards autocracy, remarked Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Speaking at the Congress party’s Vijaya Bheri public meeting organised by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee at Tukkuguda on the city outskirts on Sunday, Mr.Gehlot said there was threat to even the Constitution. He stated that the people of the region fondly referred to former prime minister Indira Gandhi as Indiramma and Sonia Gandhi as Soniamma as they were aware of the fact that the family had always stood for interests of the country and never hesitated to make sacrifices.
Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukku said the Congress had given statehood to Telangana knowing well that then chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh was against it. However, Sonia Gandhi had decided to respect the decades-long demand of the region’s people even at the cost of losing power in A.P.
Former Minister Md. Ali Shabbir remarked that Telangana government topped in terms of “making its youth consume liquor” to keep the State coffers ringing. He pointed out that promises made by Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao including increase in reservation for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes and other communities were not kept. He labelled the BRS and MIM as the B-Teams of BJP and said it was proved when BRS showed support for Article 370 abrogation, triple talaq, demonetisation, simultaneous elections etc.
Congress MLA Seethakka said it was the Congress alone that would deliver justice to Adivasis, Dalits, minorities and other downtrodden sections of society, including getting back the lands assigned to the poor. Former MP Ponnam Prabhakar said the aspirations for which Sonia Gandhi had given Telangana were not being fulfilled due to the anti-people rule of Mr.Chandrasekhar Rao.
Former MP V. Hanumantha Rao sought to know where the BJP was when the Congress government led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel integrated Hyderabad State with the Indian Union. He remarked that Mr.Chandrasekhar Rao joined the movement for statehood to Telangana after he was denied a Cabinet berth by N.Chandrababu Naidu. “He did not get statehood but it was Sonia Gandhi who gave it to Telangana,” he said.
Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said the BRS government had failed in its promise to supply 24×7 power to the agriculture sector apart from denying houses to the poor and land to Dalits.
