Congress president Sonia Gandhi tore into TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, calling him an “opportunist” and a “power monger” at her twin election rallies in Telangana on Sunday, a day before campaigning ends in the region.
Addressing massive crowds, first at Chevella near Hyderabad and next, at Andhole in Medak district, she alleged KCR wouldn’t mind joining hands with “communal forces” to capture power in the new State. Conscious of the sizeable population of minorities in Telangana, she recalled that the TRS chief had earlier joined the saffron camp and warned he will do the same this time too. “Telangana people have great expectations from the new government. We cannot hand over the reins to a person who cannot be trusted and can compromise on the welfare and safety of the people,” she said. This is in utter contrast to her first election meeting in Telangana on April 16 when she had ignored KCR, except for a brief remark that the TRS had no role in the formation of the State. In her last poll pitch in T, she urged the people to think twice before exercising their franchise.
“Congress is the only party which can take together all the people and develop your state. Handing power to the TRS or communal parties will ruin your future. April 30 is a crucial day and any mistake will cost you your entire life,” she warned.
She alleged KCR was misleading the people. “When Congress announced it would give Telangana, KCR thought we were not serious and attacked us. When we gave it, he started taking credit for it!” she said.
“Let me tell you Telangana was created not due to the efforts of any political parties but the sacrifice of the people of the region. The real heroes are the people,” she asserted and went on to add that “KCR knows only the language of hatred. Supporting such a person will not be in the interest of the people.” She even went to the extent of saying that KCR wasn’t interested in a separate State. “When T bill was introduced in Parliament, he was not even present in the House!” she recalled.
Seeking to strike a chord with the people of Medak, she reminded the people that the late Indira Gandhi had won from here in 1980 and wanted them to once again support the Congress. Taking a dig at the BJP too, the Congress chief said, “BJP is unable to think beyond Modi. Similarly, TRS is unable to see beyond KCR and is blindly following him.”
She also claimed that her party had fought against all odds to create the new State as the TDP, TRS, BJP and YSRC were speaking in two tongues. “As we have promised the people of Telangana, we stood firm and passed the T-bill. We knew we would lose politically but still, to fulfil our promise, we stood by our word,” she claimed. After the rally at Chevella, Sonia Gandhi reached Andhole by road as her chopper developed a technical snag.
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