Dubbak bypoll: Harish Rao challenges BJP to prove its propaganda

Finance Minister has challenged the BJP President Bandi Sanjay to prove their claims right in an open debate in Dubbak

Siddipet: Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in false propaganda during the election campaign in Dubbak by-election by circulating false information on digital platforms and also during the door-to-door campaign, Finance Minister T Harish Rao has challenged the BJP President Bandi Sanjay to prove their claims right in an open debate in Dubbak.

Offering to tender his resignation as a Minister and as a MLA of Siddipet if they proved their claims, Rao has demanded that the BJP state president quit as a party president and MP of Karimnagar if he failed to prove the BJP claims.

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Speaking to reporters here in Siddipet on Monday, the Minister has said that the BJP leaders claimed that they were giving Rs 1,600 out of 2,000 Aasara pension being given by the Telangana government to beedi workers and Rs 8,000 under KCR kit scheme. Terming it as a baseless, Rao has said that the Union government is not even giving 16 paise leave alone contributing Rs 1,600. He has further said that each and every paise that is being spent on KCR Kit is being released by Telangana government.

Alleging that BJP Party was indulging in a Goebbels propaganda showing a video of a BJP lady corporator from Karimnagar campaigning making such false claims, Rao has demanded that the BJP state president to come to Dubbak Bus station to prove the claims they were making during the campaign right. Since he was Finance Minister of Telangana, Rao has said that he would know how much share the Centre is actually contributing towards pensions.

“Why were Gujarat, Karnataka and other BJP ruled States not giving the Rs 2,000 pension if the Centre was really contributing Rs 1,600 to each pension beneficiary as claimed by Telangana BJP?” Harish questioned. He has further said that the BJP was trying to mislead people during the election campaign and was also circulating false messages. The Minister said that even the Joseph Goebbels would have committed suicide had he been alive today after seeing the way the BJP was carrying out the false campaign in Dubbak Constituency.

Showing evidence of such false campaign, Rao has said that one Srinivas Lavudya, a BJP worker from Mahabubnagar district, had posted and circulated a video claiming that TRS workers damaged the flag post of TRS in Dubbak. Saying that the video was actually shot a year ago in Mahabubnagar district when a TRS leader was denied MLA seat, Rao said police arrested Srinivas Laudya for circulating false videos following a complaint lodged with the Election authorities.

In another post, Rao has said The BJP workers publicised that the Municipality had granted Rs 3 crore for a town hall in Dubbak. The BJP had also questioned to whom the money was given, though the works have not yet been grounded at all. In yet another post, the BJP worker claimed that Dubbak Municipal Commissioner had granted Rs one crore to a contractor under Special Development Fund to lay a road before it was even grounded. The Senior TRS leader has said that BJP workers with their false posts had tried to show the public Harish Rao and the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao were benefitted with such grants.

Further explaining the false information that is being circulated by BJP workers and leaders disseminating through various forms, Rao has said that no government in the country was giving pension to beedi workers while the BJP here was claiming that the Centre’s contribution in the pension was to the tune of Rs 1,600 in each pension.

Harish Rao asked the state BJP chief to come forward for an open debate in Dubbak town to prove the claims, else he should resign. Saying that the Dubbak people would teach a fitting lesson to BJP leadership in the election, Rao has said that the BJP will repeat the Huzurnagar by-election performance where they came fourth after Congress and an independent candidate. The BJP candidate put on a poor show as he polled a meagre 2,600 votes in Huzurnagar.

Instead of indulging in such false propaganda, Rao has asked the BJP leaders to pursue the BJP led union government to grant national status to either Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) or Palamuru project, to win the hearts of Telangana people. He alleged that the State BJP leadership has remained as mute spectator when the BJP government merged seven mandals from Telangana in Andhra Pradesh during the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 when the TRS observed it as a black day.

Saying that the Centre has to pay funds under BGF, GST, IGST, Rao has suggested the State leadership to pursue the centre release the grants if they really committed for the development of Telangana State. Medak MP, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, MLC Farooq Hussain and others were present.

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