Rahul Gandhi’s Telangana visit draws criticism over priorities and timing

Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Telangana has drawn criticism from political leaders and observers, who questioned his priorities and timing. Critics said he ignored key local issues while attending other events, raising doubts over his commitment to the state

Hyderabad: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Telangana on Monday has stirred a hornet’s nest, with critics pointing out that he did not visit when SC/ST farmers were assaulted at Lagacherla, nor meet unemployed youth over the past two and a half years or University of Hyderabad students during the Kancha Gachibowli land controversy. However, he found time to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad last April, meet football icon Lionel Messi in December, and attend the valedictory ceremony of the DCC presidents’ training programme at Vikarabad on Monday.

Many said this reflected the Congress MP’s commitment, or lack of it, towards Telangana, and noted that despite assuring 42 percent reservations for BCs in local body elections and claiming to champion constitutional rights, he was ignoring developments in the state.

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“This exposes the lopsided priorities of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and gross betrayal towards the people of Telangana. Till date, he has not commented a word on the rampant corruption charges in the Telangana government,” BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan said.

“Surprisingly, when Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy openly pledges to raise Rs 1,000 crore for the Gandhi family, is Rahul Gandhi endorsing the Chief Minister’s declaration? If not, why has no show cause notice or action been taken so far by the Congress high command?” asked Sravan.

These developments come at a time when Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has repeatedly stated that there was no money for capital expenditure and appealed to people to stop expecting welfare measures. The Congress party also faced criticism for convening the training programme for DCC presidents from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh at Vikarabad, which some viewed as a strategy to avoid protests by unemployed youth.

“Had the programme been arranged in Hyderabad, the unemployed youth would have created a ruckus,” observed a senior leader from Gandhi Bhavan.

The police action of taking several unemployed youth into preventive custody in the city, reportedly ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s visit, also drew criticism and allegations of double standards against the Congress government.