Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of delivering “scams instead of promised schemes”, and said that the nine-and-a-half years that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has ruled the poll-bound state have been replete with unfulfilled promises and broken commitments.
Modi said the state was poised to elect a BJP government as he addressed two rallies in Telangana on Sunday, upping the political ante in the southern state that goes to the polls on November 30 — in the fifth and final stage of assembly elections that decide the electoral fortunes of five states.
Addressing a rally at Toopran in the state’s Medak district, Modi said K Chandrasekhar Rao (known popularly as KCR) has a habit of making promises with the intention of misleading people.
“He has failed to fulfil many of his promises. He promised to make a Dalit chief minister, but did not stick to it. The Dalit Bandhu scheme was not implemented completely, as he promised. He could not fulfil his other promises like providing employment for the youth and irrigation facilities to farmers,” Modi said. “KCR has delivered scams to you instead of promises.”
The Dalit Bandhu scheme is a welfare programme to empower Dalit families and encourage entrepreneurship among them. Through this, the government provides a one-time financial assistance of ₹10 lakh for eligible family to take up self-employment programmes.
{{/usCountry}}The Dalit Bandhu scheme is a welfare programme to empower Dalit families and encourage entrepreneurship among them. Through this, the government provides a one-time financial assistance of ₹10 lakh for eligible family to take up self-employment programmes.
{{/usCountry}}Modi said that instead of providing employment opportunities to the youth of the state, KCR instead wanted to only make money for himself and his family. “He promised to enhance the income of the people, but only his family’s income has increased multiple times. He neglected the state. Do we need a chief minister who doesn’t come to the state secretariat at all?” he asked.
He also targetted the Telangana CM’s decision to contest from a second constituency (Kamareddy), apart from his home constituency of Gajwel.
“The reason is simple. He is afraid of an impending defeat in Gajwel in the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Etala Rajender, who is fighting like a lion. He is sure to face defeat in both the constituencies,” Modi said as he called upon the people of the state to vote for the BJP.
The state is poised for a contest between the ruling BRS, which is bidding to return to power for a third straight term, the Congress, while the BJP hoping to make its presence felt as well. In the 2018 elections, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (as the BRS was then known) won with 88 assembly constituencies, while the Congress came a distant second with 19 seats, and the BJP won one.
On Sunday, Modi accused KCR of leaving the evacuees of Mallannasagar project in lurch, by neglecting the plight of those who lost their homes and lands due to this project, leading to discontent among the farmers and the poor.
Mallannasagar is a reservoir built as part of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme in Siddipet district. More than 20,000 people from 14 villages were displaced due to the project.
Reiterating that both the Congress and the BRS were practising “dynastic politics”, Modi said the power was concentrated only in a few families. “They are not bothered about the country, but their own descendants. The people should be wary of such parties,” he said.
He charged that both the Congress and the BRS were “corrupt to the core”. “When the Congress was in power at the Centre, there were several scams like Bofors. In Telangana, BRS MLAs have been collecting 30% kickbacks for every work they undertake. While the people of Telangana had fought for irrigation, funds and jobs, KCR and his family had amassed wealth in the name of irrigation projects. There were no jobs, as the question papers of public service commission examinations were leaked. Now, after looting Telangana, KCR has focussed on looting the entire country,” he said.
Modi charged the Congress and the BRS of neglecting other backward classes (OBC). Expressing concern over the lack of opportunities for talented OBC individuals, the PM reiterated that their problems would be resolved once the BJP comes to power in Telangana and an OBC leader becomes the chief minister.
There were no immediate responses to the PM’s comments from the Congress or BRS as of late Sunday night.
Vows to form turmeric board
Addressing another election rally at the state’s Nirmal district, Modi asserted that his government had fulfilled the long-standing demand of the local turmeric farmers by announcing the formation of the National Turmeric Board.
“We have decided to form the National Turmeric Board as promised in our election manifesto. We shall transform Nizamabad into a ‘Turmeric City’ and confer a Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Armor turmeric, ensuring substantial benefits for Nirmal’s turmeric farmers,” Modi said.
Modi highlighted efforts of the Centre in constructing nearly 250,000 houses in Telangana, of which, he said thousands were not handed over to beneficiaries due to “unjust seizures by the state government”.
“Under a BJP government in Telangana, these houses would promptly reach the deserving beneficiaries, and this is Modi’s guarantee,” he asserted.
He also drew attention to the disparity between the BJP’s focus on development, food parks, and textile parks, and what he said was the appeasement politics that the BRS and the Congress indulged in Telangana. He said, “BRS has even extended appeasement to technology. Will an IT park be established in India based on religious grounds now?”