AP leaders repent opposing statehood for Telangana, says Harish Rao

Harish Rao said on Saturday that the rulers of Andhra Pradesh had exposed themselves because of the yawning gap between their words and deeds

Hyderabad: Health and Finance Minister T Harish Rao said on Saturday that the rulers of Andhra Pradesh had exposed themselves because of the yawning gap between their words and deeds.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone for a 100-bed Government Hospital in KPHB in the city, he recalled that Andhra leaders had made noisy claims of their administrative abilities. They had opposed Statehood for Telangana on the plea that it would spell doom for the region. They also voiced fears that Telangana would turn into a hotbed of naxalites once it became a separate State.

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But what was the condition of Andhra Pradesh and its leaders today, he asked, pointing out that they had failed to live up to their tall claims. They proved to be low on delivery. But in contrast, Telangana was way ahead in development. The Andhra leaders were now repentant of the stand they had taken against according Statehood to Telangana, he said, adding that the State’s growth figures spoke for its transformation today.

The big turnaround in Telangana State was not because of any magic wand in the hands of its rulers. Its growth and prosperity owed very much to years of hard work and sustained efforts put in by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, he said.

Stating that a 1000- bed TIMS hospital would come up soon, the Minister said another super specialty hospital would be coming up in Patancheru.

Acknowledging the efforts made by Kukatpally MLA M Krishna Rao for sanction of the 100-bed hospital at KPHB, he said that the MLA was instrumental for the development of the Rythu Bazar in Kukatpally and the local tank as well. The Chief Minister, he said, had addressed the water woes in Hyderabad as well as in the rest of the State.

There were areas in Maharashtra where people still find it hard to get water supply even once in nine days. In contrast, every town and village was assured of round the clock water and power supply in Telangana. There was no need for inverters, converters and generators in the State today.

“We started 21 medical colleges in nine years. Gone are those days when students used to go to Ukraine and China for medical education. The number of MBBS seats in the State were increased from 2950 to 8340 seats. The State is spending Rs.500 crore on each medical college being set up in the government sector. We are going to start KCR Nutrition Kits across the State from June 14. The Chief Minister came forward to implement it before anyone could ask for it,” he added.