The CM said that there would be a discussion on the injustice meted out to Telangana in the Union Budget in the Assembly.
Published Jul 23, 2024 | 9:54 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 23, 2024 | 9:54 PM
Revanth Reddy (X)
Taking the NDA government at the centre to task for the discrimination against Sothern states, particularly Telangana in the Union Budget, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday, 23 July, said that he was planning to convene a conference of the chief ministers of the Southern States to expose the injustice below Vindhyas.
Speaking to media persons at his Jubilee Hills residence in Hyderabad, the chief minister said: “I want to invite all the chief ministers of the southern states. All of us share a common concern. We have been at the receiving end all these years. We want to raise our voice against the conspiracy of diluting south’s presence in Parliament through delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies, lesser devolution of funds after taking more through central taxes, and financial support for various projects.”
The chief minister said that he was shocked to see that there was no mention of Telangana anywhere in the budget though the state had given eight MPs to the BJP. The people had thought the BJP would do some good to Telangana, but now, after seeing the injustice done, the BJP should realise that the countdown for its existence in Telangana has begun.
Revanth Reddy described the Union Budget as reflective of the anxiety of the NNDA (Naidu, Nitish, Dependent Alliance) to stay in power. “It is a quid pro quo budget. Narendra Modi, to save his chair, had bartered projects to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh for the continuation of the support of Naidu and Nitish to his government,” he said.
He lashed out at the BJP Telangana leaders for acting like slaves to Narendra Modi. “Kishan Reddy, who is union minister in Modi’s cabinet, should step down for failing to get any funds or projects for Telangana,” Revanth Reddy said and added that people needed an explanation from him as to why the budget had turend out to be an empty shell for Telangana.
The chief minister said that there would be a discussion on the injustice meted out to Telangana in the union budget in the Assembly on Wednesday, 24 July, after question hour. “I am inviting former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to take part in the discussion and exert pressure on the centre for what is due for Telangana. If he does not come and take part in the discussion, then we will have to assume that he had gone down on knees before the Prime Minister. Anyway, tomorrow we would know who is on whose side,” the chief minister said.
Revanth Reddy took a serious exception to Union Education Minster Dharmendra Pradhan for writing to him that it was not possible to sanction IIM to Telangana without assigning any reason. “In the budget, when the Finance Minister was referring to Andhra Prades State Reorganisation Act, 2014, to announce support for Amaravati and Polavaram, she did not care to talk about Telangana though the Act applied equally to our state,” the chief minister said.
He wanted to know why the centre had not bothered to allocate funds for Musi Riverfront Project, Metro Rail expansion, Regional Ring Road construction, Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, or the several promises made in the Bifurcation Act including railway coach factory at Kazipet, steel factory at Bayyaram and funds for tribal university announced recently after a lapse of 10 years or revival of ITIR.
:We should protest all these as a matter of right. The Finnane Minister did not have the heart to allocate any funds or sanction any project while presenting a budget worth ₹48 lakh,” he charged.
He said the NDA government at the centre did not bother to act on any of the representations that he and his cabinet colleagues had made to the prime minister and other central ministers on the projects that sought funds from the centre.
“I myself have met the prime minister thrice. I even called him bade bhai, hoping that he would act like one and handhold the state which as the leader of the nation, he should. But he remained unmoved,” the chief minister said and wondered why Telangana cannot have Musi River Front like Sabarmati River Front in Gujarat, or a Regional Ring Road when Modi can have a bullet train for his state.
Revanth announced that the Congress MPs would raise this act of injustice in the Lok Sabha in coordination with MPs from other states.
(Edited by Neena)
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