Congress will not be spared if promises are not kept, says KTR

We will be watching closely how this Congress government will fulfill the wild promises they made to come to power. They had no idea about the fiscal burden while making those promises, KT Rama Rao

Hyderabad: In his first interaction with the media after the new government took over, BRS working president and former Minister KT Rama Rao said the Congress would not be spared if it failed to deliver its electoral promises. He also criticised the ruling party for misleading the people with impractical promises disregarding their feasibility.

“The real game begins now. We will be watching closely how this Congress government will fulfill the wild promises they made to come to power. They had no idea about the fiscal burden while making those promises,” he said during an informal interaction with the media at the BRS Legislative Party office on the Assembly premises.

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Rama Rao said the Congress would soon start singing the old tune that the State was handed over to them with a pile of debts, which he termed a ploy to escape from implementing the poll promises. He said in the Governor’s first address in the Assembly scheduled on Friday, the Congress government would claim that the previous government had left the State in a financial mess.

The BRS working president reminded that there was a record of every promise made by Congress leaders including the Chief Minister, which would be revealed at the appropriate time.

“Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised to implement a crop loan waiver within 24 hours after forming the government. Revanth Reddy had assured to hike social security pensions to Rs.4,000 after assuming power. He had pledged to give legitimacy to the six guarantees in the first Cabinet meeting. He also promised to provide Rs.15,000 per acre per annum to farmers under Rythu Bharosa, within 10 days after the elections. What happened to these promises now?” he asked.

He also ridiculed the Congress plans to release a white paper on the State’s financial condition. He reminded that the entire State budget including borrowings were audited and tabled in the Assembly every year, which was nothing but a white paper on budget expenditure. “Before making promises, the political parties should assess their feasibility. If the Congress did not check the audit reports before making their promises, it is not our concern,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the promises made by the Congress leaders, Rama Rao pointed out that a Congress MLA had even promised to provide 45,000 jobs in his constituency if elected to power. He said political parties might speak as per their whims to come to power, but it is altogether different to implement these promises after assuming power.

“We understand the complexities involved in implementing crop loan waiver. We will be keeping a close watch on the Congress government over implementation of its promises,” he said.

Rama Rao also said the BRS would fulfill its role as a vigilant opposition, a duty entrusted to them by the people. He said the party was receiving a positive response from the people in the State and it would continue to serve the people. Acknowledging the setback in the recent elections, he said the reasons for the defeat would be analysed thoroughly and issues would be addressed. He urged party members not to get disheartened, emphasising that this was merely a temporary setback for the party.