KTR slams Centre over discrimination against Telangana, questions Congress govt’s silence

"Regardless of who is in power, Telangana must prosper. Yet, the Congress government’s budget speech failed to highlight the glaring discrimination by the Centre. The word ‘Telangana’ was missing from the union Budget itself," he said, speaking in the Assembly on Thursday during the debate on the Appropriation Bill

Hyderabad: In a full throttle attack on the BJP-led union government, BRS working president and Sircilla MLA KT Rama Rao lashed out at the Centre for systematically neglecting Telangana despite the State’s rapid development. He also criticised the Congress-led State government for failing to protest against the continued injustice meted out to Telangana in the union Budget.

“Regardless of who is in power, Telangana must prosper. Yet, the Congress government’s budget speech failed to highlight the glaring discrimination by the Centre. The word ‘Telangana’ was missing from the union Budget itself,” he said, speaking in the Assembly on Thursday during the debate on the Appropriation Bill.

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Rama Rao outlined Telangana’s economic strides over the past decade, despite the Centre’s persistent discrimination. Citing RBI data, he noted that Telangana recorded the highest compounded growth rate of 17.57 per cent between 2014 and 2023. He credited former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s leadership for the State’s transformation through innovative policies and an inclusive welfare model in a short span.

The BRS working president listed multiple instances of discrimination against Telangana, pointing out that the Centre granted national status to irrigation projects in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh while refusing the same for Telangana’s Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Schemes, despite provisions in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. He pointed out that the Centre systematically overlooked Telangana in infrastructure development. Industrial corridors such as Hyderabad-Nagpur, Hyderabad-Mumbai, Hyderabad-Chennai, and Hyderabad-Bangalore, which could have boosted the State’s economy, were denied.

“Instead, they impose GST on our handloom sector for the first time in independent India and refuse to establish a single powerloom cluster in the State,” he said, also charging the BJP with copying Telangana’s welfare initiatives while denying the State its due financial support.

“They rebranded our Rythu Bandhu as PM Kisan, Mission Kakatiya as Amrit Sarovar, and Mission Bhagiratha as Har Ghar Jal. They take inspiration from us, collect taxes from us, but refuse to give anything back,” he said.

Exposing the Centre’s apathy, he pointed out that Telangana was denied prestigious institutions like IIM, IISER, NIFT and IIIT, even after the formation of new districts. “Out of 157 new medical colleges sanctioned across India, not one was allotted to Telangana,” he added.

The BRS legislator also slammed the Modi government for shifting a proposed Defence and Aerospace Corridor from Hyderabad to Bundelkhand, despite Telangana’s leadership in the sector. He accused the BJP of political vendetta for allocating Rs 100 crore and setting up an international arbitration centre, in competition to Hyderabad’s International Arbitration Centre.

Rama Rao stated that Modi had deliberately undermined Telangana’s interests post-bifurcation. “With a stroke of a pen, Modi gifted seven Telangana mandals and the Lower Sileru Power Project to Andhra Pradesh. Yet, he refused funds for the Bayyaram Steel Plant, Nizamabad Turmeric Board, and Hyderabad Metro expansion,” he charged.

Urging the Congress government and people to unite against this injustice, Rama Rao warned that Telangana’s interests would continue to be overlooked without a collective fight. “BJP leaders campaigned in Dubai for Gulf workers’ votes but did not allocate a single rupee for them in the budget. Our union Ministers from Telangana remain silent while the Centre loots our taxes and insults us,” he said.

In a direct appeal to the Congress government, he asserted, “The Congress must rise above political compulsions and demand justice for Telangana. If we don’t fight back, Telangana will continue to be neglected.”