HYDERABAD: BJP MP M Raghunandan Rao on Saturday alleged that the state government was failing to provide even basic financial support to village administrations.
He said that apart from payments to sanitation workers and computer operators, panchayats were receiving “not even a single rupee” as allocation from the state.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, the MP alleged that the Congress had weakened local administration and recalled that during its earlier rule, the party had reduced sarpanches to “ceremonial idols”.
He claimed that the Congress survived by repeatedly invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s name and accused its leaders of being “fake Gandhis” who feared political irrelevance without it.
Challenging the Congress leadership, Raghunandan Rao said that if the party truly respected Mahatma Gandhi, it should release a white paper on schemes launched in Gandhi’s name during its tenure. He alleged that of nearly 150 such schemes, only two or three actually carried Gandhi branding.
On the issue of EVMs, the BJP MP accused the Congress of double standards.
“If you win, EVMs work; if we win, they do not. What kind of political culture is this?” he asked. He further alleged inconsistencies in the party’s stand on electoral processes, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on elections.
Raghunandan Rao said former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had returned to public view due to internal family disputes and groupism within the BRS. He asserted that KCR’s return would have no impact on Telangana politics and alleged that the BRS was mobilising crowds to its public meetings using the money it accumulated during its rule.
Reacting to a recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MP said Modi’s remarks were being deliberately misinterpreted. “If our leader speaks to us, why should it be breaking news?” he asked, adding that comparisons with AIMIM were baseless and untrue.