Deccan Chronicle

Etala warns he may be small, but will cost CM

- DC CORRESPOND­ENT

Reacting sharply to the comments of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashe­kar Rao, former minister and BJP leader Etala Rajendar said he might be a small person, but would prove costly to the former. “Entire Telangana will feel the heat of Etala Rajendar in the days to come,” said the BJP leader.

The Praja Deevena Yatra being taken out by Rajendar entered the seventh day and he toured Gundedu, Kothapally, Kannuru and Kamalapur villages of Kamalapur mandal in Huzurabad constituen­cy on Sunday.

Addressing a meeting in Kothapally, Rajendar said leaders who had been with him for the past 20 years, left him and joined the TRS. “If I had made any mistake, they might have informed me before leaving me. Without any informatio­n, they shifted their loyalties to the TRS,” he pointed out.

Rajendar said he strove hard for the betterment of all sections of people in the constituen­cy, but was not able to uplift the poor families. It was the responsibi­lity of the government to uplift the downtrodde­n, but without the permission of the Chief Minister, the ministers could not do anything, he said.

The love and affection Chandrashe­kar Rao was showing to Dalits and farmers was only to grab their votes, he said, adding that by giving `10 lakh to Dalits of only Huzurabad constituen­cy, the Chief Minister was betraying other Dalits across the state.

“If the people of Huzurabad are benefiting from various sops and schemes that are introduced by the TRS government, I would be the first person to feel happy, since all these have happened because of my resignatio­n from MLA post,” he pointed out.

Rajendar said he never wished to leave the TRS. He said whatever responsibi­lity was given to him by the TRS government, he fulfilled it properly and did not oppose

Chandrashe­kar Rao when he said he wanted his son K.T. Rama Rao to be the next Chief Minister of the state.

“Even during the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, when the people were living in panic situations, leaving the house and family members, I rendered services to the people round- theclock and got a good name for the services which I did,” he said.

“was not able to give even ration cards and pensions to eligible people in my constituen­cy for the past three years. When I was not able to do anything for the sake of my people, there is no meaning to remain as a minister or in an MLA post. But Chandrashe­kar Rao himself sent me out and did a good thing,” he added.

The government started distributi­ng sheep for the GollaKurum­a community of Huzurabad constituen­cy only to grab their votes, the former minister said, adding that the Dalita Bandhu scheme was also launched to grab votes of Dalits.

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