If Telangana can, why can’t Maharashtra, asks KCR

Chandrashekhar Rao did not mince his words as he launched a scathing attack on the political parties in Maharashtra

Hyderabad: In a sharp retort to those criticizing the Telangana model, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday asked why schemes that were successfully running for five to six years in Telangana could not be implemented in Maharashtra.

Addressing a massive gathering of farmers and people of Maharashtra at Sarkoli during the formal induction of senior NCP leader and former MP Bhagiratha Bhalke into the BRS on Tuesday, Chandrashekhar Rao did not mince his words as he launched a scathing attack on the political parties in Maharashtra. He questioned the State’s lack of progress and pondered the purpose and direction of the nation. Expressing his concerns, he emphasised that 75 years of independence should have yielded greater development and growth.

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Highlighting the democratic process, the Chief Minister stated said elections were always happening.

“Someone always wins. How many parties did you support? Name me one party in a State like Maharashtra which did not get a chance to rule. Congress ruled for 50 years. After that, you gave a chance to NCP, Shiv Sena, and also to the BJP. If any of them wanted to deliver something for farmers, they would have done so already. If schemes like those implemented in Telangana can benefit farmers, why not in Maharashtra? Maharashtra is a big, rich State. What is missing here?” he asked.

Chandrashekhar Rao dismissed the argument that implementing schemes similar to Telangana in Maharashtra would lead to bankruptcy. “Yes, there will be bankruptcy. But only for politicians. Farmers will celebrate Diwali,” he said, questioning the motive behind the criticism and the contradictory arguments of his political rivals.

The BRS President also emphasised the potential for efficient water management and irrigation in India. “India has 41 crore acres of cultivable land. We get enough rain to provide 1.4 lakh TMC of water. Even if half of it gets vapourised or goes waste, the remaining 70 TMC of water is surplus enough to meet our irrigation and drinking water needs. With proper planning, every acre in the country will get adequate water for irrigation and every household will receive enough drinking water for consumption,” he added.

Due to the inefficiency of the rulers, 8-10 farmers were committing suicide in Maharashtra every day, while people living in even cities like Mumbai and Pune were facing severe drinking water crisis. He emphasised an urgent need for new water and power policies in the country.

Announcing that if the BRS was voted to power in Maharashtra, people would get access to quality power and drinking water while farmers would get irrigation water and uninterrupted free power supply as well as Rythu Bandhu, he said the elders, differently abled and others receiving social security pensions would get pensions on par with Telangana. He also assured to implement the Dalit Bandhu scheme in Maharashtra on the lines of Telangana.

“We must undo the injustice meted out to our Dalit brethren for centuries,” he said.
“Our fight is justified and I am confident that we will emerge victorious. There will be a qualitative change in Maharashtra as well as in the life of farmers soon,” he said.