PM Modi challenged to name better performing State than Telangana

Anger is still seething over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegations of corruption and dynasty politics in Telangana

Hyderabad: Anger is still seething over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegations of corruption and dynasty politics in Telangana while keeping quiet over the same in his own party, and at the same time, over his charge of no ‘vikas’ in Telangana even when the State has taken vast strides in multiple sectors over the last nine years.

Industries Minister and BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, in a hard-hitting riposte to Modi, listed out one by one how Telangana was the leading State in the country on multiple fronts and challenged Modi to name one State that had performed better than Telangana in the last nine years.

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Taking serious objection to the Prime Minister failing to acknowledge the State government’s achievements and instead, accusing the State of non-cooperation, the Minister pointed out that Telangana had the highest per capita growth in India at a stunning 155 per cent. The per capita income had increased from Rs.1.24 lakh in 2014-2015 to Rs.3.17 lakh in 2022-23.

Telangana was also the first State in the country to provide drinking water to all homes, apart from showcasing the best rural development model in India with 100 per cent ODF plus villages. The State was the second highest paddy producer in India, apart from being the State creating the highest number of IT jobs in India.

While being among the top four contributing States to the Indian GDP, Telangana was also among the top three in Ease of Doing Business apart from having the highest per capital power consumption in the country. It was also the second largest renewable energy producer in India, had one of the lowest Debt-GSDP ratios and as per a CSDS survey, had the least corruption in the country.

Its capital city of Hyderabad, apart from being the Vaccine Hub of the world, was rated by Mercer as the Best Indian city for five years in a row from 2015.

“Yet the PM of India has not a single word of appreciation!! Refuses to acknowledge a performing state for petty politics… I challenge you to name a state that has performed better all round than Telangana in last 9 years…” (sic) he said.

Finance Minister T Harish Rao also did not mince words while pointing out that the Prime Minister’s main agenda appeared to be belittling the State despite its achievements.

Since the formation of Telangana, Aasara pensions and Rythu Bandhu benefits were being transferred directly into the beneficiaries’ accounts. Yet, the Prime Minister had alleged corruption in schemes using the Direct Benefit Transfer system, which was far from the truth, he said.

Pointing out that the Centre had in fact copied Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu and renamed it PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, the Finance Minister said the Prime Minister’s claim that farmers had benefited only through the Central version of the scheme was absurd.

On the lack of cooperation, he said truth was exactly the opposite, with the Centre not even responding to Telangana’s repeated requests to implement promises in the AP Reorganisation Act, right from a Tribal University to the Kazipet coach factory and from the Bayyaram Steel Factory to national status for Kaleshwaram and Palamuru Rangareddy Lift irrigation projects.

Even Congress leader Kapil Sibal found fault with Modi’s statement that corruption and dynasty go hand in hand and asked why the BJP joined hands with the Akalis in Punjab, with Jagan in Andhra Pradesh, with the Chautalas in Haryana, Mufti’s in J&K and so on. Were they not dynasties when the BJP joined them, he asked, calling it Modi’s politics of convenience.