Finance Minister poses 18 questions to Bandi Sanjay a day before Dubbak by-polls
Siddipet: Finance Minister T Harish Rao who has been exposing the devious campaigning methods of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Dubbak by-election, shot off 18 questions to BJP State unit president Bandi Sanjay in an open letter on Sunday morning, the last day for campaigning in the constituency, which goes to poll on Tuesday.
Reading out the 18 questions at a press meet, Harish Rao said every party has the right to seek vote in a democratic system, and pointed out that the BJP leaders should also remember that they have responsibilities too. “BJP has lost the right to seek votes because they failed to fulfill such responsibilities,” he added. The Minister also said the BJP was meting out step-motherly treatment to Telangana by denying funds and not granting permissions for various projects.
Harish Rao said his 18 question power was to expose the BJP leadership’s attitude towards Telangana State. “I had asked similar questions but there was no response from the BJP leadership,” he said.
Question 1: Didn’t the BJP government at the Centre do injustice by merging seven mandals from Telangana State with Andhra Pradesh immediately after the State formation?
Question 2: Didn’t the BJP government hand over 460 MW lower Sileru Hydroelectric project to Andhra Pradesh? Telangana was losing Rs 500 crore every year since Sileru project is known for electricity generation at much cheaper rate.
Question 3: Why did the BJP government not set up Bayyaram Steel plant though it was an assurance under the State Reorganisation Act? Harish Rao pointed out that the plant would have generated employment for thousands of youth in Telangana State. Even six years after Telangana State was formed, there has been no move to set up Bayyaram steel plant.
Question 4: Didn’t the BJP-led Union government cancel ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) project, which was mooted by the previous UPA government in Hyderabad city with an estimated investment of Rs 2.19 lakh crores? The same BJP government sanctioned an international financial technical city for Gujarat. The Minister said that the NDA government has done a great injustice to the unemployed youth of Telangana by cancelling ITIR. Why should the people in Dubbak vote for BJP, he questioned.
Question 5: Didn’t the BJP government cancel the proposed Wagon Factory at Khazipet in Warangal district? Rao said Telangana government has spent its own money to acquire land for Wagon Party, but the BJP government went back on its promise. He said hundreds of unemployed youth would have got employment with the Wagon Factory.
Question 6: Why is the Centre delaying the river water allotment of Godavari and Krishna causing a great injustice to Telangana even six years after the State was created? Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had given repeated representations requesting the Centre to allot just a share of river water to Telangana, but to no avail. He said the issue is fuelling differences between the sibling States. Isn’t the BJP government responsible for water disputes between these two States? Harish Rao questioned.
Question 7: Why has the Centre not given national Status to any irrigation project in Telangana though it has given the national status to Polavaram project, being constructed in Andhra Pradesh? Do they really have a moral right to campaign that they have done a lot for Telangana State? Harish demanded an answer from BJP leadership.
Question 8: Niti Aayog Vice-chairman, who toured across Telangana to examine Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya schemes, recommended that the Centre grant Rs 24,000 crore towards these two schemes, but the Centre did not even grant a single rupee until today. He demanded the State BJP chief Sanjay to pursue the Centre to get this fund released if he really had any commitment towards the development of Telangana.
Question 9: Even six years after Telangana State formation, 1,153 electricity staff belonging to Andhra Pradesh were still working in Telangana. The Telangana is incurring Rs 1,000 crore loss and they could not take up new recruitment, which would eventually benefit Telangana youth. Why the Centre could not transfer these employees until today?
Question 10: Saying that the BJP had granted 3,155 km long national highways after they were voted to power in 2014, Harish Rao said the Centre has granted funds to only 1,300 km so far, denying the grants for the rest 1,855 km. A highway passing through Dubbak from Ramyampet to Habsipur Cross Road was also denied funds.
He asked Bandi Sanjay to get funds for highways if he really had commitment. Why should people of Dubbak vote for them even after denying funds for the road?
Question 11: Why not the BJP government, which is giving Rs 200 pension to 6 lakh people in Telangana, is not giving the same to 33 lakh other beneficiaries? He has said the Telangana government is giving Rs 2,016 pension to 39 lakh pension holders; only 6 lakh of them were getting Rs 200 from the Centre.
Question 12: Why the Centre is not coming forward to set up an airport in Warangal though they have proposed to build 100 Airports across the nation in the 2020-21 Union Budget by spending Rs 4 lakh crores. Saying that an airport was proposed to be built at Mamandur in Warangal district during the Nizam period and the land was also allotted, Rao demanded the State BJP leadership to get one Airport to Warangal.
Question 13: Saying that the Centre is extending financial assistance to support textile industry with an objective of capacity building in textiles, Rao said that it had granted special packages to a number of textiles parks. Why did the same BJP government not extend financial assistance to Warangal Textile Park, which is going to be the biggest in the country? He said thousands of Padmashalis, and Nilakantas, traditional weavers communities, would have benefited had the centre extended support to the textile park.
Question 14: Why the Centre did not respond to Telangana plea of restoration of Cement Corporation of India unit in Adilabad?
Question 15: Why had the Centre kept the Telangana Assembly resolution, which proposed the increase of reservation for STs from existing 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent and categorisation of Scheduled Castes if they really had commitment for the welfare of these backward communities? Isn’t BJP led Centre doing injustice to SC and ST Communities Telangana?
Question 16: Why was the BJP government not responding to the pleas of the Telangana government to set up Navodaya schools in all the districts in State? According to Navodaya schools guidelines, the Centre had set up institutes in all the districts in India. However, only 9 out of 33 districts in the State were having the schools now.
Question 17: Why is the Centre not coming forward to take up the Musi purification project though they had taken up such projects on river Ganga and Naramda, located in northern parts of the country? Isn’t it showing bias towards Telangana? Musi river is flowing through the Hyderabad capital.
Question 18: The Centre has to pay Rs 1947.54 crore due to Telangana under 13th and 14th Commission together. According to AP reorganisation Act, the Centre has to release Rs 450 crore towards the development of backward districts of Telangana. It also has Rs 2,856 crore due in IGST since 2017-18 financial year. Since Telangana is maintaining a GST growth rate at 14 per cent, the Centre will have to pay compensation every year as per the GST Act. Accordingly, the Centre had to pay Rs 5,926 crore, but it never responded to the pleas for release of funds. On a whole, Rao said the Centre has to pay Rs 12,000 crore to Telangana.
Harish demanded the Telangana BJP leaders to pursue the Centre to get these projects to Telangana and ensure the pending funds released immediately which would be going to be a great relief for Telangana and its people. Do you really have the moral right to seek a vote in Dubbak election? He said that the TRS government will complete all the development works if the Centre grants the pending funds.
The Senior TRS leader demanded the Bandi Sanjay to respond to his 18 questions if they really had commitment.
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