BRS will lead yet another agitation to protect interests of Telangana: KCR on formation day

HYDERABAD: Telangana’s first Chief Minister and founder of BRS who spearheaded the 25-year-long final phase of the Telangana agitation K Chandrashekar Rao said that he is strong enough to take up yet another agitation to protect the interests of the people of Telangana, that he so dearly loves.

KCR offered floral tributes to Telangana Talli at the BRS headquarters here on Sunday as part of the party's three-day decennial celebrations. “Greetings to all the people of the State on the occasion of the decennial celebrations. Not just for BRS, but for everyone. Some moments during the long fight for Telangana are great, and some are painful. If you think about it, it's still sad. The movement began in 1969,” KCR said, describing every moment he endured until he achieved Telangana in 2014.

Recalling the active role of the TNGO community in the initial stages of the agitation, KCR said that the need to save Telangana from the onslaught of Andhra rulers was the reason to embark on the agitation for separate Telangana. “Telangana accent and culture were belittled. There was an exodus of labour and farmers from Mahbubnagar in search of work. The then Congress and TDP Governments and leaders did not stop the migration. Then I said I would start an agitation only for statehood. It should not be a street fight, it must be a state fight,” KCR explained.

Describing why Telangana lost confidence in the Congress Government in just a few months, KCR said that BRS was the only shield that would protect the people of Telangana.

"Yesterday, someone came to me and said that the BRS will get 105 seats if elections are held now. During the Assembly elections, people turned a little bit towards the wind. The Congress Government is in a quandary over the issue of electricity. The days of this Government are numbered. The Congress government will fall,” he observed.

He said that the BRS Government ensured that farmers of the State who faced decades of injustice recovered with the help of irrigation, round-the-clock power, and financial assistance. “In the last 10 years, farmers have been paid for their produce. The Congress brought back old days of long queues for seed and fertiliser,” KCR said.

He said that the victory of the BRS candidate Naveen Reddy in CM Revanth Reddy’s home district indicated a positive swing towards the BRS. He exuded confidence that Rakesh Reddy would win the Nalgonda Graduates MLC Election.

“How many seats you win in the Lok Sabha elections doesn't matter. We will win. Few surveys said 11 seats and few say one. But my bus yatra attracted the attention of people from different strata of the society. Shortly, governance will fall on our shoulders. All these are temporary setbacks and we will come back to power,” the BRS chief pointed out.

He wondered why the Congress Government could not announce a single policy even after six months after assuming power. “I have introduced 42 such policies during the first-ever cabinet meeting after forming the Government,” he said.

KCR became nostalgic when he remembered the first days of the agitation and the reasons why he left the Deputy Speaker post offered by the then CM Nara Chandrababu Nadu. He said that the hike of power tariffs was the trigger that made him quit TDP and launch the TRS.

“The agitation started in 1999 but the brainstorming went upto 2001. The BRS is a 25-year-old tree now, ready to pick a fight for Telangana anytime,” he said