The prime minister also laid the foundation stones for various development projects worth more than ₹6,000 crore.
Prime Minister Modi at Warangal on Saturday, 8 July. (PMO/Twitter)
In a speech that appeared to kick off the BJP campaign for the coming Assembly election in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 8 July, unleashed a blistering attack on Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, saying that corruption had become the hallmark of the ruling BRS government in the state.
Indirectly referring to the Delhi Excise Policy scam, Modi said the BRS’s corrupt practices had now reached even the national capital.
Taking a swipe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), under whose rule the alleged scam took place, the prime minister termed it “unfortunate” that two states in the country had come together to pull off a scam.
Usually, states collaborated to implement development projects. But that practice now appeared to have become passe, as the purpose of such cooperation has become to facilitate corrupt deeds, he said addressing a public meeting on the grounds of the Government Arts and Science College in Hanamkonda
Central investigative agencies arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the case and have interrogated BRS MLC K Kavitha, daughter of Chief Minister KCR, as he is popularly known, in connection with the scam.
“The BRS government is the most corrupt one in the county. No development project is implemented in the state without a rake-off,” the prime minister said, adding that KCR’s family was steeped in corruption.
“Is it for this that the Telangana youths had laid down their lives for a separate state?” he asked.
The prime minister asserted that in the ensuing Assembly elections, the BJP would drive away both the BRS and the Congress from Telangana.
“The two parties would have no address after the elections,” Modi said, and reminded how the BJP had shown the “trailer” of what it was capable of doing with its performance in the municipal elections.
He recalled the days when the BJP had only two members in the Lok Sabha in 1984 and how Telangana stood by it.
“Chandupatla Janga Reddy from Hanamkonda was one of the two MPs the BJP had in the Lok Sabha, and the BJP expressed faith in the people that they would support the saffron party in the Assembly elections,” Modi said.
He said it has become a KCR’s habit to abuse the BJP. “It is unfortunate that the state has become a prisoner of KCR’s family. Any family rule invariably becomes corrupt. The BRS now, and the Congress in the past, prove the point,” he said.
“Now the nation is looking at the BRS’s corruption,” he said.
The prime minister also lashed out at the BRS government for “betraying the trust” the youth had reposed in it by denying jobs to them for the past nine years.
The BRS has played with their lives by leaking the question papers of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) and helping those in high places in the government to feather their nests. The government has not filled about 3,000 teachers’ posts in universities and thousands of teachers’ posts in schools, he said.
The prime minister also referred to the plight of Adivasis and Scheduled Castes (SCs) under the BRS dispensation and how the BJP intended to help them after coming to power.
The Union government had accorded priority to creating infrastructure in tribal areas such as laying six-lane roads, unlike the BRS which had neglected them. He said his government had sanctioned a Mega Textile Park and released ₹1 lakh crore directly into the accounts of village panchayats in the past nine years.
Earlier in the day, Modi laid the foundation stones for several infrastructure projects in Telangana worth around ₹6,100 crore in Warangal.
The development works included 176-km long National Highway (NH) projects worth over ₹5,550 crore and a Railway Manufacturing Unit in Kazipet to be developed at a cost of over ₹500 crore. He also performed puja at the Sri Bhadrakali Temple in Warangal.
Addressing the gathering, the prime minister remarked that even though Telangana was a relatively new state and has completed only nine years of its existence, the contributions of its people have been very significant in the history of India.
“The capabilities of Telugu people have always enhanced the capabilities of India,” he said.
The prime minister highlighted the significant role the citizens of Telangana have played in making India the fifth largest economy in the world and expressed confidence in the growth in opportunities as the world looks towards India as an investment destination.
“There is a lot of anticipation for Vikasit Bharat,” he added.
“The new, youthful India of today is brimming with energy,” Modi said. Stressing that no part of India should be left behind in terms of fast-paced development, Modi highlighted the emphasis on improving Telangana’s infrastructure and connectivity in the past nine years.
The prime minister stressed the need to find new ways to achieve new goals as he pointed out that fast-paced development in India is impossible with obsolete infrastructure.
Noting that poor connectivity and expensive logistic costs hinder the progress of businesses, Modi highlighted the multifold increase in the speed and scale of development by the government.
He gave examples of highways, expressways, economic corridors, and industrial corridors, creating a network and said the two-lane and four-lane highways are being converted to four-lane and six-lane highways, respectively.
The prime minister said that the highway network of Telangana has seen a two-fold rise from 2,500 km to 5,000 km. He also mentioned that an additional 2,500 km of national highways was under different stages of development.
Modi said that the dozens of under-construction corridors as part of the Bharatmala Project would pass through Telangana and gave examples of the Hyderabad-Indore Economic Corridor, Chennai-Surat Economic Corridor, Hyderabad-Panji Economic Corridor and Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam Inter-corridor.
In a way, Modi continued, Telangana has been connecting the surrounding economic centres and becoming a hub of economic activity.
Speaking on the Mancherial–Warangal section of the Nagpur–Vijayawada corridor whose foundation stone he laid earlier on the day, the prime minister said that it would connect Telangana with Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh while reducing the distance between Mancherial and Warangal.
Modi said the four-lane Karimnagar-Warangal section would boost connectivity to the Hyderabad-Warangal Industrial Corridor, Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, and Warangal SEZ.
He emphasised that the increased connectivity in Telangana was directly benefiting industry and tourism as travelling to heritage centres and places of faith in the state was becoming more convenient.
“Be it, farmers or laborers, students or professionals, everyone is getting benefited. The youth are also getting new employment and self-employment opportunities near their homes,” he added.
Throwing light on the Make in India campaign and how the manufacturing sector was becoming a huge source of employment for the youth in the country, the prime minister mentioned the production-linked incentive scheme encouraging manufacturing in the country.
“Those who are manufacturing more are getting special assistance from the government,” Modi said.
The prime minister also touched upon India creating a new record in defence exports this year. He said India’s defence exports, which was around ₹1,000 crore nine years ago, has now crossed ₹16,000 crore.
Referring to the Railway Manufacturing Unit, Kazipet, whose foundation stone was laid today, the prime minister said it would create new employment opportunities.
Concluding the address, the prime minister said, “This is Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,” as he urged people to take Telangana forward on this mantra of development.
Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy, Member of Parliament Bandi Sanjay Kumar and others were present on the occasion.
The prime minister laid the foundation stone for 176-km National Highway projects worth over ₹5,550 crore. The projects included the 108-km long Mancherial-Warangal section of the Nagpur–Vijayawada Corridor. The section would reduce the distance between Mancherial and Warangal by around 34 km.
He also laid the foundation stone for the upgradation of the 68-km Karimnagar–Warangal section of NH-563 from the existing two-lane to a four-lane configuration.
The prime minister laid the foundation stone of the Railway Manufacturing Unit, Kazipet. To be developed at a cost of over ₹500 crore, the modern manufacturing unit would have enhanced rolling stock manufacturing capacity.
