Congress Government, not nature, responsible for drought in Telangana: KTR

KARIMNAGAR: BRS Working President K Tarakarama Rao alleged that the drought conditions in Telangana State were not caused by nature but by the Congress Government.

He was addressing a meeting at Karimnagar on Thursday to review the arrangements of the BRS public meeting proposed to be held on March 12 at SSR College Grounds in Karimnagar. He also released the poster of Kadana Bheri in the presence of BRS Karimnagar candidate B Vinod Kumar, party MLAs and other leaders.

KTR said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy blamed insufficient rains for the drought in Telangana. However, he said the drought was the result of the Congress government's wrong decisions and actions.

The BRS leader said BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao completely understood the geographical and climatic conditions and the plight of farmers in Telangana. Therefore, he worked with the determination to give water to the farmers. "We have seen drought for many years in the past. The Kaleswaram project is the Brahmastra that KCR developed to tackle the drought. He constructed a barrage at Medigadda, which takes the water to Annaram, Sundilla, Yellampalli, Mid Maniar, Malakpet, Gauravelli, Annapurna, Ranganaik Sagar, Mallanna Sagar and Kondapochamma Sagar. These dams and reservoirs would have supplied water to several districts. But he alleged that this comprehensive and world's largest irrigation project has been defunct by the present Congress Government," he alleged.

KTR said that the Kaleshwaram project consisted of over 100 parts, and Medigadda was just one part. Of 86 pillars, one suffered damage, and two others suffered minor damage. They could have been easily repaired, and those responsible for any lapses could have been punished. However, the Congress Government did not repair the damages and turned the entire Kaleshwaram project defunct only to defame KCR and the previous BRS Government, he said.

"If repairs were done in Medigadda, there would have been a chance to give that water to the drying crops in Choppadandi, Huzurabad, Karimnagar, and Manakondur. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy does not know what Medigadda, Kaleswaram, and Mallannasagar mean. If KCR had been there then, he would have somehow brought water and saved the crops. Now, the Lower Maniar Dam is being emptied to defame KCR. Karimnagar will face a drinking water problem in the future, and the daily water supply started by the BRS Govt will be discontinued. Such petty politics is not appropriate only to defame KCR," he said.

KTR said that damages to reservoirs and dams were not unique to Medigadda. He said several projects, including Kadam, Gundlavadu Project, Musi, Nagarjuna Sagar, and Srisailam Dam, have suffered such damages. "If there is some defect in a room, will you demolish the entire house?" he asked while alleging that the Congress party imposed the ongoing drought conditions upon the people. He said people had lost confidence in the Congress Government in just 90 days.

The BRS Working President strongly objected to the derogatory language being used by CM Revanth Reddy to attack KCR and other BRS leaders. He said Revanth Reddy challenged BRS to win just one seat to prove its masculinity. He said masculinity had nothing to do with winning elections. However, he said if Revanth Reddy had guts, he should accept his challenge for a contest from Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat in the coming elections. "I will resign as Sircilla MLA, and you resign from the Chief Minister's post and as Kodangal MLA. You've been challenged to win just one out of 17 seats. I'm challenging you on only one seat," he said.

“Fulfilll all 420 promises to prove masculinity”

He said if Revanth Reddy was a man and talked of masculinity, he should fulfill all his promises to the people.

Stating that the Congress Government would complete its 100 days in power in the next 10 days, he reminded Revanth of promises that he had assured people that he would fulfill in the first 100 days of power. He said farmers were assured of Rs 15,000 per annum towards the Rythu Bharosa scheme. However, the situation worsened, and the previous Rythu Bandhu scheme was not implemented. Farmers who got misled and voted for the Congress were now regretting their decision. Similarly, Revanth had promised to waive off crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh by December 9, 2023. During the election campaign, he even encouraged the farmers who did not have any loans to take fresh loans and assured them that they would be waived immediately after Congress came to power. He said farmers were still waiting for that promise to be fulfillled.

Similarly, other promises, including giving Rs 2,500 to all women under the Maha Lakshmi scheme and increasing the pension amount to Rs 4,000, remained unimplemented. He said Congress should fulfill all 420 promises it made to the people.

Referring to Revanth Reddy's recent speeches, KTR asked why Revanth Reddy spoke with such frustration by losing his temper and using foul words despite being the Chief Minister. He said Revanth Reddy should not fear any harm to his government from the BRS. He should be afraid of his own Congress leaders. He said BRS wanted the Congress to complete its five-year term and implement all 420 promises. Then only the people would understand the difference between a horse and a donkey, and people would understand the greatness of KCR after comparing him with Revanth Reddy, he said.

“Revanth Reddy surrendered Telangana’s pride before Modi”

KTR accused Revanth Reddy of surrendering Telangana's pride and honour before Prime Minister Narendra Modi by vowing to emulate the Gujarat Model. He said the Modi Government tried to copy the Telangana Model. Rythu Bandhu was copied and named as PM Kisan. Mission Bhagiratha was named Har Ghar Jal, and Mission Kakatiya was named Amrit Sarovar. Thus, he said Telangana had become a role model for the country in all fields.

"Denigrating such a Telangana model, Revanth says we will implement the Gujarat Model in Telangana. Does the Gujarat model not stand for communal violence between Hindus and Muslims? Does it not stand for shooting innocents in trains? What do you like about the Gujarat model?" he asked.

KTR said while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi calls the Gujarat model a waste model, Revanth appreciated it. Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of favouring Adani, but Revanth welcomed Adani on the red carpet.

KTR also slammed BJP leader and Karimnagar sitting MP Bandi Sanjay. He said Bandi Sanjay brought no development to Karimnagar in the last five years. He challenged Bandi Sanjay for an open debate with BRS candidate Vinod Kumar on the developments they brought in Karimnagar during their terms as MPs. He also condemned Bandi Sanjay's alleged derogatory remarks against Minister Ponnam Prabhakar's mother and asked the BJP MP to apologise to all women. He said Bandi Sanjay tried to incite religious feelings to get political mileage but fails to explain what he did for his constituency.

The BRS leader also appealed to the minorities to vote for BRS candidate as their vote for Congress would only benefit BJP's Bandi Sanjay. Speaking on the allegations of the BRS being the B-team of BJP, he said that the minorities should understand whether Revanth Reddy, with an RSS-ABVP background, was BJP's B-team or KCR, who had been fighting against the saffron party. In the last Assembly elections, he said it was the BRS that defeated all BJP's top leaders, including MPs Bandi Sanjay, Dharmapuri Arvind and Soyam Bapu Rao, MLAs Etala Rajender and B Raghunandan Rao. Therefore, he said that only the BRS could defeat the BJP across Telangana, and Congress had no strength to win.

He predicted that after the Lok Sabha elections, Revanth Reddy would become an Eknath Shinde and Hemanth Biswa Sarma of Telangana by joining the BJP. Therefore, voting for Congress will be like voting for the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections in Telangana.

He said KCR would launch the party's campaign for the Lok Sabha elections on March 12 from the SSR College Grounds in Karimnagar. It is the same venue where KCR roared like a lion in Simha Garjana against the Andhra rulers. Once again, KCR will roar against the Congress Government, which cheated the people with false promises.