TRS, Cong hand in glove: PM Modi
ATTACK MODE Says Telangana CM KCR was minister in UPA Cabinet and tussle between the two parties is just a ‘friendly match’
MAHBUBNAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao as a by-product of the Congress and alleged that the TRS and Congress were hand in glove in cheating the people of Telangana. The PM addressed election rallies at Nizamabad and Mahabubnagar.
In Nizamabad, Modi accused the TRS and Congress of perpetuating family rule and said the two parties were playing a “friendly match” in the Telangana elections due to take place on December 7.
“He was a minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) cabinet,” Modi said of Rao, better known as KCR. “Now, he is trying to hoodwink people by criticising the Congress. In fact, the Congress and the TRS are playing a friendly match. While one family ruined the country by ruling it for four decades, other family destroyed Telangana in its fourand-a-half year rule,” Modi alleged. He likened the tussle between TRS and Congress to a non-serious wrestling bout.
Taking a swipe at KCR, Modi alleged that the Telangana chief minister wasn’t religious, but only superstitious. “He is in fact a superstitious person, who believes in astrology, vastu and mirchi-nimbu,” he pointed out.
Lack of employment in Telangana after the state’s formation in 2014 was forcing people to migrate, Modi said. “The Congress and TRS talking about farmers does not suit them. The 70 years of Congress rule and (almost ) five years of TRS government are responsible for the present plight of farmers.”
At Mahbubnagar, he came down heavily on the All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi for saying that any party that came to power in the state will have to depend on his party. “Do we need such a party?” he asked.
Stating that Telangana had become a reality after longdrawn agitations and sacrifices by hundreds of youth, Modi said no politician could play with the state. Calling upon the people of Telangana to reject the Congress and the TRS, he reminded them that the ‘corrupt Congress’ had never been voted back to power in the states in which it was rejected once. He cited Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar and Jharkhand as examples. “People prefer Mulayam (Singh Yadav), Laloo (Prasad), Mamata (Banerjee), Nitish (Kumar) but reject Congress”, he said.
The PM appealed to the people of Telangana to give a chance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the state’s development.
Interestingly, Modi made no reference to Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in his speech. The TDP, which severed ties with the Bjp-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in March this year, is in an electoral alliance with the Congress in Telangana.
Hitting back at the prime minister for his remarks that Nizamabad was grappling with a shortage of water, electricity and proper roads, the caretaker chief minister asked Modi “not to lie for the sake of votes”.
“You should not lie, being in the responsible post of prime minister, for the sake of votes,” KCR said addressing an election rally in Mahabubnagar district. Nizamabad is represented by KCR’S daughter K Kavitha in the Lok Sabha.
He also found fault with Modi for saying there was power problem in the state.
Telangana Congress spokesman Guduru Narayan Reddy said Modi had no right to talk about the Gandhi family.
“Neither Sonia nor Rahul had held any positions in the government. How can he say it was a family rule? In fact, the Gandhi family has made immense sacrifices for the country,” he said.