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KCR’s govt most corrupt in country: Modi in Warangal
PM Modi launched the BJP's campaign in Telangana and called dynastic parties like the BRS deeply involved in corruption and dangerous for the people.
Launching the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign in poll-bound Telangana on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the chief minister KCR-led government in the state was the most corrupt across the country and that “its roots” had spread to the national capital.
After laying the foundation stone for development projects worth ₹6,100 crore, the PM addressed a massive rally in the state’s Warangal. The state is expected to go to polls later this year.
“Earlier, there used to be news on development-related agreements between two countries or two state governments. (Like) two states have made an agreement for development (purpose). Two states have made an agreement for water. Such news used to appear,” he said.
“But, this is for the first time when allegations of deal for corruption between two parties and two state governments are made,” Modi said, in a veiled attack at the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana and the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi.
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The reference was ostensibly to an investigation of alleged corruption in Delhi’s now-abandoned excise policy, which the Central Bureau of Investigation has said involved financial irregularities, including tweaked rules at the behest of some private companies, including those linked to KCR.
Those named in the case include AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and BRS leader and Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter, K Kavitha. Both leaders and their parties have called the case a political ploy by the Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and the Union government’s misuse of federal agencies.
Dynastic parties like the BRS are deeply involved in corruption, the PM said, also hitting out at the Congress.
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“The foundation of all these dynastic parties has its roots in corruption. The entire country has witnessed the corruption and scams indulged in by the dynastic Congress party. Now, the whole of Telangana is seeing the level of corruption in the state by the BRS. Both BRS and the Congress are extremely dangerous for people of Telangana,” Modi said.
Describing chief minister Rao’s government as the “most corrupt”, Modi said there is no such project in Telangana devoid of corruption allegation. “Now the tentacles of their corruption have spread up to Delhi,” he said.
The BRS government has done only four things — abusing Modi and the Central government all the time regularly, making one family the centre of power and establishing themselves as the owner of Telangana, to ruin Telangana’s economic development and “immersing” Telangana in corruption, he alleged.
Hitting back, the BRS working president and state minister KT Rama Rao said the PM insulted the people of the state by setting up a ₹520 crore wagon factory while “taking away” a ₹20,000 crore locomotive factory to Gujarat.
Referring to PM’s comments that there are thousands of teacher posts vacant in Telangana, KTR said it is like “pot calling the kettle black” as the Centre is not filling more than 16 lakh central government jobs and is permanently privatising jobs in public sector organisations.
Countering Modi’s talk of “parivarvad” (dynastic politics), KTR said for KCR, the entire state was like one family and the people of the state were his family members. “Yes, ours is a Telangana family party,” he said.
The Prime Minister accused KCR of cheating the youth by promising employment. “The hopes of the unemployed youth were shattered following the exposure of recruitment scam in Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC). Nearly three thousand posts are lying vacant in the universities of Telangana and another thousands of vacancies in the government schools and colleges. The KCR government betrayed the faith of the students,” he said.
Pointing out that the sarpanches of gram panchayats were agitated over lack of development in the villages, Modi said the Centre was directly releasing funds to the gram panchayats. “In the last nine years, the Centre has released more than ₹1 lakh crore to gram panchayats in Telangana,” he said.
Similarly, the Centre had fulfilled its promise of giving minimum support price for the agriculture produce. “We have given mega textile park to Telangana. What has the KCR government done? It has not provided basic infrastructure for the Adivasi hamlets,” he said.
But, the PM said, the people’s aspiration in Telangana now is “ab ki bar BJP Sarkar” (BJP government this time).
