Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy on Monday, 20 November, launched a diatribe against Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao for his remarks on late prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Revanth said one should know that Indiramma Rajyam meant respect and dignity for the most disadvantaged sections of society.
Digging deep into Indira Gandhi’s Telangana legacy, the TPCC president said that it was she who gave lambadas a life of dignity by listing them under Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Also read: Congress makes subtle shift to legacy of Indira Gandhi in Telangana
Savage swipes at KCR
Addressing election rallies at Narsaapur, Parakal, and Nampally, Revanth said KCR was trying to mislead the people by saying that Indiramma Rajyam meant an era of hunger and privation.
He claimed that one should know it was the golden period in India’s history, when the SCs and STs benefited the most.
“Indira Gandhi provided houses to tribals who were living in thandas. It was in her time that 25 lakh acres of assigned lands were distributed to the SCs, allowing them to live with their heads held high,” said the Telangana Congress chief.
KCR should know that it was under Indira Gandhi that pattas were given to tribals for doing podu cultivation, he claimed.
“Indira Gandhi built huge dams and provided water to the parched fields in Telangana. KCR should also know that the civic bodies and reservations for women were created during the Indiramma Rajyam,” said Revanth.
He also said that KCR and his family would by now have been begging on the steps of the Birla Mandir had Indira Gandhi not initiated reforms and Sonia Gandhi not created Telangana.
“Wasn’t it Indiramma Rajaym that helped you contest and win the post of single-window director in Siddipet? Have you forgotten that it was Indira Gandhi’s son Sanjay Gandhi who appointed you the president of the Youth Congress?” he asked.
Also read: KCR describes Delhi parties as eagles descending on Telangana
‘Don’t support betrayers of Congress’
Revanth Reddy also appealed to the voters of Narsapur to teach a fitting lesson to Sunitha Laxma Reddy, who defected to BRS and was now in the fray as a candidate from the ruling party.
“Don’t support betrayers of the Congress,” he said, besides pointing out that he was happy to see a huge crowd. “Though leaders left the party, the workers are with it.”
He said KCR, in the guise of developing the state into a golden Telangana, had turned it into a graveyard.
“KCR says that he has taken the state to the No 1 position in the country, but has he? Telangana is No 1 in liquor consumption, rank corruption, suicides by farmers, and unemployment,” he said, asking the people to bury the chief minister in a 100-metre-deep trench.