‘Why is BJP talking about Bin Laden, Pakistan in Hyderabad polls’: KTR

Telangana Rashtra Samithi working president and state minister for municipal administration KT Rama Rao on Wednesday accused Bharatiya Janata Party of whipping up religious passions and stoking communal fire in Hyderabad to gain a few seats in the elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to be held on December 1.

“How can a leader of a responsible national party like BJP talk about conducting surgical strikes on the old city of Hyderabad? Why do they have such an utter hatred toward Muslims? Why do they talk about Babur, Bin Laden and Pakistan in local elections like GHMC, as if there are no other issues concerning the people of the city?” the TRS leader asked in an interaction with the media.

He sought to know what the NDA government was doing when Rohingyas were allegedly entering the country illegally. “International borders are monitored by the Centre, not the TRS. What was it doing in the last six years? Why have they allowed the so-called illegal migrants? Who gave them Aadhaar cards?” he asked.

Telangana BJP president and parliamentarian Bandi Sanjay on Tuesday kicked up a controversy stating that if his party captured power in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in the December 1 elections, it would carry out “surgical strikes” on the Muslim-dominated old city of Hyderabad to drive away Rohingyas and pro-Pakistani people living illegally.

KTR, as chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s son is popularly known, lashed out at Union minister Prakash Javadekar for releasing a “charge sheet” against the state government, calling it as a “MIM-TRS Sarkar,” and using the picture of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi along with the chief minister.

“Does Javadekar have any shame? Is MIM a part of the TRS cabinet? It clearly shows the BJP’s utter contempt towards Muslims,” he said.

He pointed out that it was the BJP which had forged an alliance with the PDP to form the government in Kashmir. “That shows its political opportunism. But in Hyderabad, we never had an alliance with the MIM, but fought against it in the elections. In the last GHMC elections, the TRS had won five seats in the MIM-dominated old city. This time, we are going to win at least 10 seats defeating MIM,” KTR said.

The TRS working president said the reason why the BJP should not win the GHMC elections was that it would create communal disturbances in the city. “Though the law and order will still be under the control of the TRS government, the BJP will foment trouble in the otherwise peaceful Hyderabad and that will disturb the tranquillity in the entire Telangana. Was it not the BJP which triggered communal violence in Delhi recently?” he asked.

KTR said the BJP was banking on communal divide to garner votes in the GHMC elections, as it had no other achievement to talk about. “The BJP-led NDA government had meted out step-motherly treatment to Telangana. When there were floods in Karnataka, the Modi government released Rs 669 crore immediately and in Gujarat floods, Modi toured personally and announced Rs 500 crore relief. But when Hyderabad suffered worst-ever floods, not a single rupee has been released till date,” he alleged.

He described as “idiotic” the argument of the BJP leaders that the state had got sufficient funds under disaster relief funds. “It is a statutory allocation due to the state and would have come even if there were no floods. How much additional money did the Centre release to the state?” he asked.

The TRS leader further said the BJP had no right to seek votes from the youth, as it had cancelled the prestigious Information Technology Investment Region project sanctioned to Hyderabad by the previous UPA government.