Congress, BJP have history of give and take in TS, says Harish Rao

Addressing a meet-the-press programme organized by TUWJ, Harish Rao reiterated that the BRS and BJP stood poles apart in all aspects. The BRS was a secular political party.

Hyderabad: Rubbishing the contention that the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) was in a clandestine agreement with the BJP, Finance Minister T Harish Rao said the Congress and the BJP had much in common in Telangana. There was proven history of a give-and-take relationship between the two national parties. Both found a common enemy in BRS and were working on a pact to undermine the entity that fought for the self-respect of Telangana, he said.

Addressing a meet-the-press programme organized by TUWJ, Harish Rao reiterated that the BRS and BJP stood poles apart in all aspects. The BRS was a secular political party. BRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was a secular leader with strong belief in the spirit of Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb. The Congress and BJP were together in many ways. During the bye-elections to Dubbak and Munugode, the Congress had extended all support to the BJP even if the gesture cost the Congress its deposits.

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Now the BJP is out to pay the Congress back in the same coin. Its leaders were flocking to the Congress. If the BRS was in pact with the BJP, why would the Governor delay her asset to many of the Bills passed in the Legislative Assembly. Had there been such an understanding between the two parties, the Governor would have been obliged to clear the appointment of Dasoju Sravan and K Satyanarayana as MLCs under the Governor’s Quota. Both candidates were picked up from disadvantaged sections.

RTC employees’ issue

Had there been any sort of understanding between BRS and the BJP, the Governor would have cleared the bill pertaining to the merger of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation without delay. The RTC employees would have been considered as Government employees already if the bill was given assent by the Governor without any delay. Their issue got delayed further because of the election notification. The government had already written to the Election Commission of India. The merger formalities would be fulfilled the moment the government got positive response from the ECI, he said.

Reiterating that the BRS would be voted to power for the third consecutive term, he said on December 3, the BRS would be forming a new government. RTC employees would get the status of government employees from the day Chandrashekhar Rao assumed charge as the Chief Minister for the third term. Exuding confidence over the outcome of the election, he said Chandrashekhar Rao would be the first leader from the south to be elected as Chief Minister for a third consecutive term.

There is no match to Chandrashekhar Rao in providing stable administration. People in the State were not ready for taking risks by trying out other parties than the BRS. Besides providing a stable government, the State was free from law and orders issues for the last nine and a half years. The State has made rapid strides on all counts, he added.