Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, on Tuesday, refuted the allegation made by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao that the BJP government at the Centre was “undermining the federal spirit of the Constitution”.
“What does KCR know about the federal spirit? In fact, whatever development Telangana has witnessed in the last eight years was only due to the funds released by the Centre,” he claimed, while addressing a public meeting at Palakurthy in Jangaon district.
KCR, on the other hand, had made Telangana people “paupers” and was not in a position to pay salaries to employees properly, plus there was a debt burden of ₹1.20 lakh on every person’s head. “Can he explain how many new ration cards and new pensions he had given to people in the last eight years?” he questioned.
The Chief Minister had been blaming the Centre to “cover up his failures and hoodwinking people” but TS people don’t trust him. KCR had not fulfilled many of his promises including those made to unemployed youth, RTC workers and farmers, leading to a spate of suicides by these sections, alleged the BJP leader.
Mr. Sanjay Kumar charged that the TRS government had extended ‘Rythu Bandhu’ to rich farmers ignoring the poor and sought to clarify Prime Minister Modi’s stand on freebies stating that the latter was not against doles to the poor. KCR was always interested in coming to power by bribing voters increasing the rate per vote to astronomical levels for the last few bypolls but it will not work.
The Karimnagar MP came down heavily on the police for forcibly shutting down shops at Palakurthy in the wake of his ‘padayatra’ and accused the police of resorting to lathicharge on ‘innocents’. He also charged KCR of trying to “erase the history of Telangana and the sacrifices made by the martyrs” by not celebrating September 17 as the ‘Telangana liberation day’.
KCR nervous: Tarun Chugh
National general secretary Tarun Chugh condemned the attack on ‘Praja Sangrama Yatra’ unleashed by the “TRS goons” at Devaruppala village in Janagaon district and called it an “attack on democracy and freedom of expression”.
“It is evident that KCR is nervous about the support the padayatra is getting and wanted to intimidate our supporters to stop the yatra. But, it will go on, no matter what KCR or TRS goons will do,” he asserted. The BJP wants to reach every village and all nooks and corners of TS to “expose the anti-democratic policies, corrupt dynastic rule of KCR” in the next 200 days, he vowed, in a statement.
Eatala demand
Former Minister Eatala Rajender, at a press conference here, demanded that the police file cases and arrest those responsible for trying to “obstruct” Mr. Sanjay Kumar’s ‘padayatra’. He accused the police of being partisan and alleged that this was being done under the direction of Pragati Bhavan.
KCR’s efforts to intimidate local leaders with false cases and arrests would not work as also attempts to lure them with huge amounts of money. “Huzurabad bypoll showed people will not fall to such tricks and will teach a tough lesson to the ruling party in the coming Munugode byelection too,” claimed Mr. Rajender. Minister Erraballi Dayakar Rao’s brother Erraballi Pradeep Rao, two IAS officer and one retired DGP were set to join the party soon, he said.
