Telangana wanted statesman, but Congress became salesman, says Harish Rao

Demands immediate action against the ruling party for spending Rs 90 crore to buy votes in Mahabubnagar local body MLC elections

Hyderabad: Hitting out at the Congress government for running a police State in Telangana, former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao said the Congress indulged in massive electoral corruption, police bias and governance failures. Citing the recent remarks by senior Congress leader and Telangana Planning Board vice-chairman G Chinna Reddy, he questioned whether the Congress’ commitment to the Constitution was mere lip service while defying it in action.

In an informal interaction with mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Harish Rao demanded immediate action against the Congress for spending Rs 90 crore to buy votes in the Mahabubnagar local body MLC elections. He said Chinna Reddy publicly admitted that the Congress forced its candidate Jeevan Reddy to distribute Rs 5 lakh-Rs 10 lakh each to influence MPTCs and ZPTCs.

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“Why are the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Income Tax (IT) department, and Election Commission (ECI) silent on this blatant misuse of money?” he asked, questioning the Central agencies for the selective targeting of opposition leaders.

He ridiculed Rahul Gandhi who walked around with a copy of the Constitution, asking how would he justify it. “What more proof is needed of the Congress-BJP nexus?” he asked, demanding immediate cases and investigations against the Congress leaders.

Telangana turned into a police State

Harish Rao castigated the Congress for using law enforcement to settle political scores and turning Telangana into a police State. He pointed out that Congress leaders T Jeevan Reddy and Chinna Reddy admitted to BRS charges that the police had been reduced to personal bodyguards of Congress MLAs. He said cases were being filed and withdrawn based on their whims in a blatant misuse of power.

LRS

Criticising the Congress government over the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS), the former Minister charged the ruling party with deceiving people repeatedly. He stated that while the Congress leaders opposed LRS ahead of the Assembly elections, calling it a scheme that exploits the poor. “They promised free regularization. Now, they are squeezing money from the public,” he said.

Harish Rao took a dig at the Congress for changing stance and likened the LRS fee rebate to festival discount sales. “First, they promised everything for free. Now, they are offering 25 per cent discount as if they are running a festival bonanza. Tomorrow, they might even announce lucky draws and ‘Buy One Get One Free’ offers. While Telangana wanted a statesman, the Congress has turned into a salesman,” he said.

SLBC tunnel tragedy

Harish Rao also found fault with the Congress for politicising the SLBC tunnel tragedy while failing to take responsibility. “It is shameful that Congress leaders are making political remarks instead of standing with the victims’ families,” he said.

The senior BRS legislator refuted Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy’s claim that BRS had not taken up any work of the SLBC tunnel. The BRS had spent Rs.3,900 crore on the project, surpassing Congress’s Rs 3,300 crore expenditure. “Under the BRS, we completed 230 km of tunnels for Kaleshwaram and 11.48 km for SLBC despite technical challenges,” he said.

Harish Rao also slammed the Congress for ignoring infrastructure failures under its watch. “The Pedda Vagu project in Khammam got washed away, Sunkishala’s retaining wall collapsed, the Vattem pump house was submerged and now the SLBC tunnel collapsed – all in just 14 months of Congress rule. Yet, no action or investigation has been initiated,” he pointed out.

He also questioned why the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), which promptly submitted a report on Kaleshwaram project after a pillar developed cracks, remained silent on SLBC. “Why is the Centre not investigating this? Why are Congress and BJP shielding each other?” he questioned.