HYDERABAD: Hitting back at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s allegations, Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday accused the Congress and the BRS of having a covert “understanding” to shield the previous regime from corruption probes. The BJP leader alleged that senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge had an understanding with former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, which, he claimed, explained why no action was being taken against BRS leaders in Telangana. “Congress and the BRS are no different from each other,” he said.
Kishan Reddy was addressing the gathering during a PowerPoint presentation on “12 Years of Erosion of Urban Telangana — BRS and Congress Legacy” made by state BJP chief N Ramchander Rao.
“Congress sought votes and won the Assembly elections with a promise that it would initiate strict action against corruption perpetrated by KCR’s family, BRS ministers and MLAs. What did the Congress government achieve in the last 26 months?” he asked.
The Union minister said that the “Congress government itself had officially admitted that the phones of high court judges, film actresses, owners of media houses, journalists and political leaders were tapped during the BRS regime”.
He further claimed that even the phone of a relative of KCR was tapped and this allegation was levelled by the former chief minister’s own daughter. “Such actions reflected the most unethical governance under the BRS,” he added.
Protecting real culprits
Kishan said that despite it being “widely known” who ordered the surveillance, attempts were being made to pin the blame on a single police officer and protect the real culprits.
He criticised the Congress government for what he called “two years of hype” over the phone tapping probe, pointing out that the only action taken so far was the demotion of one officer from Deputy Superintendent of Police to Circle Inspector. “After prolonged court proceedings and repeated claims of investigation, this is the government’s sole achievement,” he said.
On political defections, Kishan said there was little difference between the BRS and the Congress, alleging that several municipal councillors, vice chairpersons and chairpersons elected on the BRS ticket later joined the Congress. He also cited the example of the Hyderabad mayor, elected on the BRS ticket and later joining the Congress. He urged voters to question why they should support either party, claiming both were effectively the same.
Ramchander alleged that due to the policies of the BRS and Congress governments, 123 municipalities had slipped into a debt of around `3,600 crore, while the GHMC was burdened with about `5,000 crore. He accused both governments of looting public money through heavy commissions and corruption.
He also alleged that the Congress government brought GO MS No 27 to facilitate the alleged looting of around `6.3 lakh crore through land deals, the Musi rejuvenation project and contracts, with commissions routed to Delhi.
Presenting details through a PowerPoint, he alleged that urban local bodies had been neglected over the past 12 years and that both the BRS and Congress governments had failed to develop corporations and municipalities. He appealed to people to vote for the BJP to “save Telangana” under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.