Centre’s delay on Sircilla textile mega cluster a political vendetta: KTR

BRS working president KT Rama Rao accused the BJP-led Union government of deliberately delaying the Sircilla Mega Power Loom Cluster. He alleged political vendetta, questioned the Centre’s commitment to cooperative federalism, and urged inclusion of the project in the Union Budget.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao has accused the BJP-led Union government of deliberately stalling the sanction of a Mega Power Loom Cluster for Sircilla, calling it a clear case of political vendetta against Telangana and its weaving community.

He charged the Centre with killing the spirit of cooperative federalism and demanded the announcement of the long-pending project in the forthcoming Union Budget.

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In a strongly worded letter to Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday, Rama Rao questioned the Centre’s apathy despite Sircilla fulfilling every eligibility norm under the Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme (CPCDS).

He stressed that the demand for a Mega Cluster is more than a decade old and has been repeatedly ignored even though Sircilla met all technical, financial and infrastructural requirements.

The former Minister recalled sending multiple letters and holding nearly ten meetings over the last 12 years with successive Union Ministers, from late Arun Jaitley to Smriti Irani, besides submitting detailed project reports. He pointed out that Central evaluation teams also confirmed Sircilla’s eligibility.

“If merit is not the issue, why has the file been kept aside? Is Telangana being punished for political reasons?” he asked, pointing to what he described as open discrimination against Telangana’s weavers.

Terming Sircilla as the backbone of Telangana’s textile sector, he said the region hosts more than 30,000 power looms and supports thousands of families. He pointed out that the Centre has sanctioned Mega Clusters in other States with far lower capacity and workforce, while denying the same to Sircilla despite its proven readiness.

Rama Rao said that under former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the previous Telangana government completed all preparatory groundwork including land allocation, assured power and water supply, fast-track approvals and State incentives.

With no technical or financial objections cited, he said the Centre’s inaction amounted to administrative arrogance and reflected the BJP’s political hostility towards Telangana.

Pointing to the BJP’s slogans of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said the Centre’s refusal to support Sircilla exposed its double standards and lack of sincerity. “Their governance is restricted to publicity, not solutions,” he said.

The BRS working president warned that the Centre’s delay was pushing Sircilla’s weaver families into trouble. He said the sector had slipped back into crisis under the Congress government in Telangana, with reports of weavers’ suicides resurfacing. “At such a critical time, the Centre’s inaction amounts to attacking the very livelihood of weavers,” he said.

He also criticised Telangana’s BJP MPs and Union Ministers for failing to defend the State’s interests and remaining silent on the issue despite their presence in Parliament and the Union Cabinet. “They have been reduced to ceremonial showpieces,” he charged.

Rama Rao urged the Centre to rise above politics and include the Sircilla Mega Power Loom Cluster in the Union Budget to uphold cooperative federalism. He warned that continued delay would only deepen resentment among the State’s weaving community.