HYDERABAD: Taking the battle into the enemy camp... that’s what TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao did on Monday when he campaigned in Congress bastions of erstwhile Nalgonda and Khammam districts. “I am sure TRS will win all 12 seats in erstwhile Nalgonda,” he claimed while addressing public meetings in Madhira, Huzurnagar, Kodad, Nalgonda, Miryalaguda and Sathupalle segments.
KCR was careful not to lash out against Congress veterans. Instead, he focussed on development and change. Speaking in Huzurnagar and Nalgonda, represented by Congress strongmen N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy respectively, he called upon people to vote for TRS candidates to ensure faster development in their region.
“The drainage system and condition of roads have not changed in the last 20 years in Nalgonda. If you do not want change it’s fine... give your votes to the same person... Nalgonda will remain the same forever,” he said. “If you vote for K Bhupal Reddy, Nalgonda will witness the change.” He also made a claim that he initially wanted to contest from Nalgonda.
“...But Gajwel people opposed that idea. That is why I fielded Bhupal Reddy. If you elect him, I will adopt Nalgonda and change its face,” Rao promised voters. Addressing a rally in Huzurnagar, he said: “I have heard that even when district TRS leaders are campaigning in this segment, people come out on the roads to hear them. It is certain that TRS will win Huzurnagar.”
At Miryalaguda, where BC association president R Krishnaiah is contesting, he harped on the welfare measures his government had initiated for the BC communities. “I know Hindi. That is why, the Congress and the BJP leaders are scared of me and doing silly politics,” he claimed. “Modi is coming again to Telangana today. Watch him on TV for his latest lies,” he mocked.
On truck permits
TRS president Chandrasekhar Rao said in Miryalaguda, where truck owners live in large numbers, that he would speak to the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh and ensure that inter-state truck permits are given by both the States. “I will resolve this issue within one month of coming to power. Both, AP and TS should adopt a ‘give and take’ policy,” Rao said. He also highlighted that the Damaracherla thermal power plant with a capacity of 4,000 MW would change the economic face of the area.
Rayalaseema Association to support TRS
In a major boost for Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Greater Rayalaseema Association of Telangana (GRAT) has promised to support the party in December 7 Assembly elections as ‘neither TRS government nor its leaders showed any partisan attitude towards them during more than four years of their rule’. “We have mingled with Telangana people and living like brothers.
We feel safe and secure in Telangana,” GRAT founder-presidents Justice P Laxma Reddy (retired judge of High Court) and A Hanuantha Reddy (retired IGP) said. In a statement issued here on Monday, Laxma Reddy and Hanumantha Reddy alleged that the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh failed to give protection even to the leader of the Opposition. “The Greater Rayalaseema people - who are from Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur and Kurnool - have been living, working and running their businesses without any fear in Telangana,” GRAT stated