HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to avoid buying gold for a year and adopt austerity measures as an “irresponsible call,” saying it reflected the failure of the Central government and amounted to an “undeclared ban” on the people.
Speaking to reporters, Revanth Reddy said the situation had arisen due to the failure of foreign policy. He said, Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had been raising concerns over foreign policy for the last six months and that Modi had now indirectly admitted it.
Ridiculing the Prime Minister’s remarks, Revanth Reddy said: “the Prime Minister told the people to survive on air and live in the air”.
The Chief Minister demanded that the Centre convene an all-party meeting and consult experts to prepare a roadmap to address the crisis arising from the West Asia conflict.
“The US is involved in the war. India is not a part of the war, yet we are facing problems. The Centre should negotiate with other countries to overcome the crisis,” Revanth Reddy said.
Clarifying Modi’s “mere se hi judo” remark made during a meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday, Revanth Reddy said it was related to development and not politics.
“I suggested at the meeting that the Central and State governments should work in tandem for the development of the country. Modi merely endorsed my statement. The PM’s comment was about development and not politics,” he said.
Revanth Reddy said the meeting focused on development and Centre-State relations despite ideological differences between parties. He also said he became Chief Minister after defeating the BJP in Telangana.
Responding to Modi’s criticism of the Congress at a BJP meeting in Parade Grounds, Revanth Reddy said: “Modi criticising the Congress in the State means criticising me.”
On Modi’s remarks describing the Congress as a “Muslim League-Maoist Congress,” Revanth Reddy said Muslims and Maoists were people of the country. He termed the remarks unfortunate and said while the BJP believed in eliminating Maoists, the Congress aimed to bring them into the mainstream.
He said BJP-ruled States resorted to encounter killings, whereas under the Congress government in Telangana, around 818 Maoists had surrendered and joined the mainstream. He added that the Prime Minister should appreciate the Telangana Police.
On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Revanth Reddy expressed concern over the alleged inclusion and deletion of votes before Assembly elections. He also reiterated his proposal on delimitation, suggesting that 50% of seats should be based on population and the remaining 50% on development.
Rejecting claims that the BJP was winning elections across the country, Revanth Reddy pointed to the BJP’s defeats in the Jubilee Hills bypoll, local body elections in Telangana, and Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The Chief Minister also said he would never indulge in vindictive politics or misuse the powers of his office.