My courage is people of Telangana, KCR tells rivals

Tearing into the Congress at Praja Ashirvada Sabha meetings held at Atchampet, Wanaparthy and Munugode on the first day of the second phase of his campaign, KCR stressed on the need for progressive politics where people's interests take centrestage

Hyderabad: In a truly mass counter to Congress leaders who challenged him questioning his courage, BRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Thursday said the people of Telangana were his courage, and that courage would be on display on November 30 when the State goes to polls.

Tearing into the Congress at Praja Ashirvada Sabha meetings held at Atchampet, Wanaparthy and Munugode on the first day of the second phase of his campaign, Chandrashekhar Rao stressed on the need for progressive politics where people’s interests take centrestage.

---

“One dares me to come to Kodangal while another wants me at the Mahatma Gandhi statue. They want to see my courage. The entire country has already seen my courage. And it is right in front of me here,” he said, pointing at the cheering mammoth crowd in front of him, and adding that the people would showcase his courage in the elections and turn opposition parties into dust.

Stating that there were KCRs in each of the 119 constituencies in the form of BRS MLAs who have been working round-the-clock for development of their constituencies, he recalled the consistent efforts of Ministers S Niranjan Reddy and V Srinivas Goud to end water woes of the Palamuru region and to develop five medical colleges in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar.

None of the leaders who were challenging him now were nowhere to be seen when he set out to achieve the dream of a separate Telangana State. Recalling the hardships of the people of Palamuru as they migrated in search of livelihood, travelled for miles for a pot of water and suffered power cuts that led to deaths of farmers due to snake bites, Chandrashekhar Rao asked whether any of these Congress leaders had come to help the people then, to which the crowd responded with a loud no.

The BRS president said the Congress was the root cause of all problems suffered by the people of Telangana, right from the merger of the erstwhile Hyderabad State with Andhra State and its suppression of the Telangana movement, which claimed the lives of hundreds of youth. The fight for Telangana’s Statehood had continued for nearly a decade, ultimately leaving the Congress with no alternative but to deliver the State.

“Even today, the Congress leaders are least concerned about the well-being of people of Telangana. They only want to gain control over the State,” he pointed out.

On the occasion, Chandrashekhar Rao stated the Congress always treated the farmers, Muslims, Dalits and other underprivileged sections as mere votebanks. “If previous Congress governments had given much-needed support like Dalit Bandhu soon after Independence, Dalits would be living like kings now,” he said, adding no Prime Minister or Chief Minister had ever dreamt of schemes like Dalit Bandhu and Rythu Bandhu introduced by him.

Hitting out at Congress leaders, Chandrashekhar Rao said schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Dalit Bandhu would be doomed if the Congress was voted to power. The BRS government has made significant strides in land transactions through the Dharani portal, reducing the involvement of intermediaries and streamlining the process for landowners. It was focusing on the welfare and empowerment of marginalised communities, through both the Rythu Bandhu and Dalit Bandhu.

“But from Rahul Gandhi to Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and A Revanth Reddy, all have vowed to remove the Dharani portal. This will not only affect Rythu Bandhu financial assistance into bank accounts of farmers, but also pose challenges to payment of paddy procurement amounts,” he said, also advising the electorate to consider the consequences of restricting power supply to three hours.