Claiming that BJP icons LK Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi were forced to retire in line with the party's ‘retirement at 75’ policy, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy on Saturday wondered if the same rule will apply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he crosses the threshold.
At a press conference, the Congress leader said Narendra Modi will cross 74 in the near future. Next year, he said, the prime minister will turn 75.
"He has decided 75 years as the age for retirement in the BJP for an elected representative. That is how he has forcefully taken decisions against LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and senior leaders. Now that Narendra Modi is going to cross 74 years, one more year is left. I want to pose the same question to Narendra Modi. Are you ready to retire at the age of 75?" Reddy said at a press conference.
Revanth Reddy, who became the chief minister earlier this year after dislodging BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao from power, claimed PM Modi ruined the country by borrowing ₹113 lakh crore.
"I want to remind you of one thing. From 1947 to 2014, 14 prime ministers, for almost 67 years, have borrowed 55 lakh crores. PM Modi borrowed 113 lakh crores. He ruined this country. The country is facing a crisis. So he has to take responsibility. So whatever documents he is submitting, we are not going to believe those documents because he can go to any level to win elections. He doesn't have integrity or credibility," he told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"I want to remind you of one thing. From 1947 to 2014, 14 prime ministers, for almost 67 years, have borrowed 55 lakh crores. PM Modi borrowed 113 lakh crores. He ruined this country. The country is facing a crisis. So he has to take responsibility. So whatever documents he is submitting, we are not going to believe those documents because he can go to any level to win elections. He doesn't have integrity or credibility," he told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}This comes amid continual sniping between PM Modi and Revanth Reddy amid the Lok Sabha elections.
PM Modi, the BJP's main campaigner, has been accusing the Telangana government of accepting kickbacks, which he calls the RR tax.
"Since the time the Congress has come to power in Telangana, there has been discussion on double 'R' tax. One 'R' is for Telangana, and the other is for Delhi. Both of them together have made Hyderabad and Telangana into an ATM," he said.
He has also accused AIMIM of exacting what he called the razakar tax.
"Here in Hyderabad, you have to take the burden of triple R tax. Here one R is for Razakars. How this Razakar tax functions is visible in Old Hyderabad. The supporters of Congress and BRS and Majlis MP who have been in power for a long time, have not even given basic facilities to people," PM Modi.
Telangana will vote on May 13, during the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The results will be declared on June 4.
LK Advani and MM Joshi, the two biggest names in the Ram Janmabhoomi stir, were made members of the Margdarshak Mandal after PM Modi assumed power. The Opposition claimed they were sidelined. This year, PM Modi gave Advani the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.