The Congress is shamelessly trying to take credit for Telangana formation even after being responsible for the death of many youths, he said.
Published Aug 06, 2023 | 7:31 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2023 | 7:31 AM
Final session of second Telangana Assembly to be held for three days. (Official Website)
Municipal Administration and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday, 5 August, predicted that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao would score a hattrick in the Assembly elections later this year.
He said, “Make no mistake about it. KCR would take the reins of the state as the chief minister for a third term. The Congress members should decide whether they want to remain at least in the Opposition benches or move out of the Assembly altogether.”
The minister, during a short discussion in the Assembly on the progress of towns and villages, took the Congress to task for its criticism of the chief minister and the state government.
“The Congress leaders do not even have content and they have the audacity to compare themselves with KCR who has content,” he said.
Referring to the Congress taking credit for the formation of Telangana state, he wondered how repulsive it would look if the British now prided themselves on gifting independence to India. It was the Indians who fought against the British and secured freedom.
The Congress is shamelessly trying to take credit for the state’s formation even after being responsible for the death of hundreds of Telangana youth, he said.
Minister @KTRBRS gave ruthless belt treatment to leaders who claim we built Hyderabad 🔥#TelanganaAssembly pic.twitter.com/HEaNwru9Li
— KTR News (@KTR_News) August 5, 2023
He recalled state Congress chief A Revanth Reddy describing his former party president Sonia Gandhi as “Bali Devatha” when he was not in the grand old party, for claiming the lives of 1,000 youths before granting statehood to the Telangana region.
KTR said, “Our pain was similar to that of the mother who delivers her baby after carrying it for nine months in her womb. The Congress only played the role of a midwife,” he said.
He questioned who was responsible for merging Andhra Pradesh with Telangana in 1956 “though the latter did not like it”. “Again, who should take the blame for the death of 370 youth during the Telangana agitation in 1968?” he asked.
While lashing out at the Congress for not acknowledging the progress that the state was making, KTR said that he was thankful to Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
They were magnanimous in acknowledging it, but the Congress in Telangana is unable to see the development right in front of it.
Referring to Mission Bhagiratha, he said that the state government’s flagship programme was providing drinking water to all the people in the state.
He recalled a central minister admitting in the Parliament that in Telangana, safe drinking water is being supplied to each and every household through pipes. Telangana state has won 30 percent of the awards that the Centre had announced under various categories in the area of rural and urban development.
“The BRS government has spent ₹29,000 crore in the last nine years but the Congress, during its long tenure, had spent only ₹6,000 crore. When the Congress was in power, those who lived on the Manair river bank also did not get water. He said 1.5 lakh km of new pipelines were laid in the state.
When it came to pucca houses, the Congress had constructed ramshackle abodes but the BRS government built double-bedroom houses for the poor.
“We have taken up construction of 2.28 lakh double-bedroom houses. Each double-bedroom house is equivalent to seven Indiramma houses. Under the Telangana Gruha Lakshmi scheme, the state government was financially helping those who had land but no money to build houses,” KTR said.
The BRS government was releasing funds for municipalities, unlike during the tenure of the Congress government.
The Municipal Administration Department has spent far more since the formation of the state in 2014 than the Congress, which was in power between 2004 and 2014. Taking a swipe at the Union government, he said that the state did not get any help from it.
Targeting CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka, KTR said that the Congress leader always spoke lies.
The CLP leader said that he was getting a water tanker once a day to his residence but in reality, since January last year, Bhatti did not book even one tanker. If Bhatti had to spend ₹2.9 lakh on water charges, it was because the water meter at his house had gone out of order.
Had it been in working condition, he would have come under the free drinking water supply scheme under which 20,000 litres per month is given free of cost.
In another context, KTR poked fun at Bhatti, saying that he was looking tired and helpless.
“I know you were on a padayatra. You seem to be mentally tired. That is why you are contradicting yourself. You say that the state is not releasing funds and, in another context, you say that bills are not being cleared. I think you are worried more about those in Gandhi Bhavan who are trying to upstage you,” he said.
Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav said that Hyderabad was competing with the US. He said that there was no scarcity of drinking water anywhere in the city.
Disputing the claim of CLP leader that Hyderabad’s progress took place when the Congress was in power, he said that the development of Hyderabad was taking place at breakneck speed.
In accordance with the increase in population, infrastructure is being augmented, he noted. He pointed out that there are already several flyovers, underpasses, steel bridges, link roads, and so on.
Under the State Rural Development Plan, several road works were taken up, and under the Strategic Nala Development Programme, nalas had been widened.
“The people of Hyderabad are very happy,” he stated.
