"We will increase our footprint in neighbouring states the way Arvind Kejriwal captured power in Punjab," Rao told reporters on Friday.
Published Oct 07, 2022 | 6:41 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 07, 2022 | 6:42 PM
Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao. (South First)
Giving a sneak peek into the roadmap for the nascent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Friday said that the party would foray into neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra, where the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has some traction.
“We converted the TRS into the BRS with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. We will increase our footprint in neighbouring states the way Arvind Kejriwal captured power in Punjab, which neighbours Delhi,” Rao said in an informal interaction with reporters on Friday, 7 October.
KTR said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao — his father — had decided to convert the TRS into a national party after consulting politicians of different hues, farmers, people’s organisations, and economists for over eight months. “We now have a clear idea about the issues that are confronting the nation,” he said.
Rao revealed that in Karnataka, the BRS would contest Assembly elections in alliance with the JD(S), led by former state chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.
HD Kumaraswamy and K Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday, 11 September, 2022. (Supplied)
The JD(S) leader was one of the few from other political parties that attended the TRS meeting on 5 October where the party decided to rebrand itself.
“Several sarpanches in Karnataka and Maharashtra have been asking us to expand our activity in their states, as they are convinced that the Telangana model of development delivers. In fact, they wanted their villages merged with Telangana,” he said.
The minister said that since the BRS would be taking on the BJP, “there is going to be an onslaught on us”.
He explained: “The BJP would conspire against us, and we know how it would misuse investigative agencies to harass us. The ED and the CBI are targeting only the Opposition parties. In Maharashtra, they are after NCP, Shiv Sena, and Congress leaders.”
He expressed surprise over BJP leaders announcing dates for elections even before the Election Commission (EC) issued any notification, or they predicting that the CBI would inquire into the “crimes committed” by the Opposition parties.
“Did the ED or the CBI ever raid the premises of any Opposition leader? The BJP has bullied CM Ramesh and Sujana Chowdary, who were in the TDP, to join the BJP, threatening to order an investigation into their businesses,” he said.
The minister said that the BRS would broadcast to the entire nation the details of the development work that the TRS government had implemented in Telangana, and then seek votes from them.
“I am not saying the BRS will contest in all the 28 states within one and a half years of its formation. Remember, the BJP took 40 years to come to power at the Centre. For us, it may not take that much time,” he said.
“Telugu films that had content became pan-India movies. Our party, too, has content, and it will become a pan-India sensation,” said Rao.
He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi what he had done for the country after dangling the carrot of the Gujarat model of development in 2014 before the people.
“He is the most incompetent, inefficient prime minister who is obsessed with self-aggrandisement. He is of no use to the nation. The national media is spineless. Modi does not hold a press meet. He does not listen to Jan ki Baat. He always tells you only his Mann ki Baat,” he said.
He also took potshots at the prime minister for promising houses to all by 2022 but constructing a house for himself at an expenditure of ₹435 crore. “The rates of inflation and unemployment are going up in the nation. In fact, it is becoming poorer than Nigeria,” he said.
It may be noted that an RTI query has revealed that Rao’s father KCR spent ₹50 crore of taxpayer money for the construction and maintenance of his own home over seven years.
Meanwhile, Rao also said the BRS would free the country from the tyranny of the BJP by helping people lead a life of dignity.
He claimed: “We will provide drinking water and free power, and help Dalits become entrepreneurs. We do not indulge in splitting hair over who should wear what or eat what, all for political benefit.”
AICC Interim President Sonia Gandhi shares a smile with Rahul Gandhi at Bharat Jodo Yatra on Thursday in Mandya. (Supplied)
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said the Congress MP should in fact take out a Congress Jodo Yatra.
When Rahul Gandhi was on his padayatra, his MLAs in Goa joined the BJP, pointed out Rao, adding that Rahul was free to take out his padayatra in Telangana for as many days as he wanted.
“The Congress MPs in Telangana might leave the party if he stays in this state for too long. I have a doubt whether the party would exist till the next election,” said Rao.
The Munugode Assembly constituency. (South First)
On the Munugode by-election, he said it was a battle between a Congress-turned-BJP leader who was splurging money to buy the self-respect of the voters of the constituency.
He accused K Rajagopal Reddy of joining the BJP after he was promised contracts worth ₹22,000 crore.
He said he came to know that Rajagopal had told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that he was ready to spend up to ₹30,000 per vote.
“Even then, we are poised to win the by-election. The Congress and the BJP would have to fight for the second and third places,” he said.
