BJP only knows how to topple govts, grab power: Harish Rao

HYDERABAD: "The BJP only knows how to topple democratically-elected governments and steal power. They have no respect for democracy," said Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday.

Addressing a press meet here, he said: "They (the BJP) engineered a split in ruling parties in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Manipur and other States and usurped power. The people elected a party in a democratic way and the BJP grabbed power by playing petty politics. They think it is fair if they invite MLAs or buy MLAs but if leaders from the Congress join the TRS, they are not able to digest it. KCR's meeting on Sunday at Munugode surely shocked them. It showcased popular support for KCR and the TRS Government. They should see what actually happens in the State in terms of development and let that continue," Harish Rao said.

Speaking about Kishan Reddy's comments that Harish Rao agreed for the imposition of GST on Telangana's artisans, he flashed a document pertaining to a GST meeting and pointed out that it was dated 2017 when Etala Rajender was the Finance Minister. He said that Etala too signed against the GST charge and requested handloom artisans be exempted from paying GST. He said it was shameful that the BJP blatantly lied to the people without checking facts.

He also said that the Centre adopted many schemes from Telangana and claimed that 'Har ghar jal' was actually Telangana's Mission Bhagiratha model. He asked why the BJP-led Central Government paid only Rs 800 crore and was proud of it, when NITI Aayog recommended to the Centre to pay Rs 19,000 crores for the project. Harish Rao alleged that the Centre failed to pay Rs 2,350 crore for the maintenance of the project, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission.

Referring to the recent farmhouse fiasco, Harish Rao said that the BJP rushed to the court and demanded a CBI probe only because they knew that the State police was not corrupt and that the CBI, ED and other bodies were all influenced by the BJP. He said that the TRS MLAs only cared about the State's welfare and that the BJP could not play petty politics with them.

He urged the people of Munugode to not fall prey to the lies of BJP leaders and consider facts before exercising their right to vote.