Congress-BRS engage in war of words over Indiramma Rajyam

Taking part in the discussion on the Budget, BRS member Kadiyam Srihari accused former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of crushing the Telangana movement during 1969.

Hyderabad: The ruling Congress and the principal opposition party BRS engaged in a war of words over the Indiramma Rajyam issue in the assembly on Wednesday.

Taking part in the discussion on the Budget, BRS member Kadiyam Srihari accused former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of crushing the Telangana movement during 1969.

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“It was the Congress government in 1969 and 2001 that tried to suppress the Telangana movement. Congress has always done injustice to the people of Telangana. Whenever people mention about Indira Gandhi, immediately the brutality during the Emergency comes to mind. We don’t want such a kind of rule in Telangana,” he said.

Stating that it was due to the injustice done by the Congress government that the issue of a separate Telangana came to the fore, he said people of Telangana realised that in Indiramma Rajyam they would not get justice, hence they started demanding a separate State.

Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu took strong objection to describing Indiramma Rajyam as anti-people and said the people of Telangana knew what Indira Gandhi had done for the State and the country.

“Let the Speaker hold a discussion on Indiramma Rajyam, we will tell what it is about and how people have benefitted through it,” he said. Srihari also took exception to the government not mentioning the contribution of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s role in achieving a separate State in the budget speech.

The government thanked former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for creating a separate State, but failed to mention Chandrashekhar Rao who led the Telangana movement, he said.