BRS rebukes Modi for Telangana hypocrisy, challenges PM for debate on development

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusations against the Telangana Government on Friday evoked sharp rebuke and rebuttals from the battery of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). They questioned Modi’s reluctance to speak on the family rule within the BJP taking the instances of Amit Shah-Jay Shah and others besides his stoic silence on his nepotism towards Gautam Adani.

Spearheading the attack, Telangana Minister for Animal Husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav ridiculed the Prime Minister’s claims on Telangana’s development and challenged the latter for a debate on the issue. Addressing the media along with his ministerial colleagues Gangula Kamalakar and Srinivas Goud and MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy at the BRS LP office here, he took exception to Modi talking politics at an official programme meant for development works.

He said that Modi had already exposed himself for the lack of concern and affinity towards Telangana with his comments at the time of the state’s creation.

“How many times will the Prime Minister flag off Vande Bharat express trains? He says the State is stalling development. Has the Centre granted anything to the state in the first place, for us to obstruct it? Modi speaking about corruption exposes his hypocrisy. Why is he silent on Adani’s corruption? Who is behind Adani bagging a key contract in Sri Lanka? Why is the Centre scared of ordering a Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) probe on the Adani scandal?

“Is Modi ready for a debate with me on Telangana’s development? Why would the Centre give so many awards to Telangana if the state had really not achieved anything? Modi should spell out the truth on whether Telangana is the number one state in the country in per capita income or not. He should dare to speak on the 24x7 power supply in the state. More than anything, the Prime Minister should also confess that he failed on his promise to create 2 crore jobs after coming to power. In contrast, we have created 1.35 lakh jobs in Telangana,” Srinivas Yadav commented.

Incidentally, it was Talasani Srinivas Yadav who received the Prime Minister at the Begumpet airport on Friday on behalf of the Telangana Government. He also wondered if Modi had the right to talk on corruption and family rule when the same traits were rampantly prevalent in the BJP. The Telangana Minister also demanded an explanation from Modi as to why there were no inquiries on the corruption of BJP’s chief ministers in various states.

“Modi should enlighten the world on the areas where Telangana is lagging behind. Has the Centre granted at least one medical college to the state? National highways are allocated regardless of who is in power. How can the Prime Minister take credit for that? What is Telangana’s share in national income and what is the Centre giving the state in return as part of its legitimate share?,” he argued.

Reacting to the protocol issue, Srinivas Yadav alleged that it was Narendra Modi who lifted the veil on the violation of protocols in the first place. He claimed that the Prime Minister had asked Telangana Chief Minister not to attend his event during one of his earlier visits to the state. He also wondered why the Prime Minister was tightlipped on the promises made for Telangana in the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act.

Chiding Modi for coming all the way from Delhi to abuse the BRS, he warned that people would revolt against the Prime Minister if he continued to do so. He also defended KCR’s decision to skip the Prime Minister’s event, contending that no law said that the Chief Minister should welcome the Prime Minister ahead of a visit.

Modi gave a raw deal to Bayyaram steel factory to benefit Adani: Srinivas Goud

Telangana Excise and Prohibition Minister Srinivas Goud said that the Prime Minister was expected to announce some new key projects to Telangana but unfortunately, he used his Hyderabad visit only to abuse the BRS government.

He alleged that the Prime Minister made the Bayyaram Steel Factory a sacrificial lamb to benefit Gautam Adani’s steel trade. He asked Modi why his BJP, had in the past, entered into trucks with parties with the so-called history of family rule. Srinivas Goud asked the Prime Minister to introspect as to why the BJP-ruled parties have been lagging far behind Telangana in development.

The Excise Minister also wanted to know why the BJP-led Centre did not accord national project status to Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy projects, if it was so concerned about Telangana. “The Modi rants today once again exposed his hatred and vengeance towards Telangana. We may tolerate Modi giving us a raw deal in the release of central funds but will not keep quiet if goes on maligning the KCR Government with a heap of lies,” he warned.

Lack-lustre Modi disappointed all sections: Gangula Kamalakar

Telangana BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar lamented that Prime Minister Narendra Modi disappointed all sections of people in Telangana with his drab speech.

“He left the Telangana farmers in the lurch by not uttering a single word on the procurement of yasangi (rabi) crop produce. It is unfortunate to see the Prime Minister coming up with blatant lies on the ration rice under the public distribution system. Who is stopping the Centre from giving free ration rice to the poor? While the Centre failed in this miserably, the State government led by KCR has increased the per-family quota of rice. The state government has spent Rs 27,000 crores so far.

“Modi did nothing for the Backward Classes community whereas KCR is providing education to them. Why would we oppose, if the Prime Minister really wants to announce any projects to Telangana?,” he asked while wondering why there were no inquiries against the chief ministers in the BJP-ruled states.

BJP, a party of fake degree holders: Balka Suman

Rebutting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusations on Friday, BRS Chennur MLA Balka Suman shot back calling the BJP a party full of leaders with fake degree certificates. He made a sensational claim that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at the Centre besides Bandi Sanjay and Dharmapuri Arvind possessed fake degree certificates. He said that the cat would be out of the bag very soon and they would end up being disqualified for using fake documents.

Stating that those asking for Modi’s PG degree certificate were being treated with Rs 20,000 fine, he openly challenged the Prime Minister to disclose his educational credentials. “Not just Modi and Amit Shah, even Bandi Sanjay and Dharmapuri Arvind in Telangana too have used fake degree certificates,” he alleged.

Balka Suman said that the BRS activists cannot be bullied and cowed so easily by the BJP leaders. He also rebuked the BJP central leadership for embracing former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh Kiran Kumar Reddy into their party, reminding them of how the former Congress leader proclaimed that he would not grant even a single rupee to Telangana.

He alleged that the Modi-led NDA Government at the Centre was trying to render the Singareni Collieries useless by privatising it. Claiming that the Singareni workers were agitated by the Centre’s approach, he demanded that the coal mines should be directly allocated to the Singareni Collieries without forcing it into an auction along with private players.