HYDERABAD: The BJP is keen to prove that it is a much bigger political force than the Congress in Telangana during Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the State on Saturday.
Shah will address a public meeting on Saturday at Maheshwaram in Rangaeddy district to mark the culmination of the second leg of State BJP president Bandi Sanjay's 30-day 'Praja Sangrama Yatra'. Telangana BJP leaders are optimistic that his tour will boost the morale of the party, which is aiming to come to power after 2023 Assembly elections.
The recent public meeting of AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi was attended by a huge number of people and BJP leaders have been clear that they would mobilise over five lakh people for Shah’s public meeting in Maheshwaram, thereby scoring political brownie points over the Congress.
Recently, BJP national president JP Nadda addressed a meeting during Sanjay’s padayatra. However, BJP leaders are planning to mobilise more people for Shah's public meeting and prove that the saffron party is more well entrenched in Telangana than the Congress.
Incidentally, Maheshwaram is represented by Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy in the Assembly. During his padayatra on Friday, Sanjay had dared Sabitha to tell the people about the development that took place in Maheshwaram Assembly segment, particularly after she joined the TRS from the Congress.
Responding to this, Sabitha countered by asking whether Shah was coming to Telangana to say that the BJP government did not give anything to the State and would not give anything in the future too. "Not only Maheshwaram, but the entire State witnessed rapid strides of progress under the TRS rule in the last eight years. Amit Shah should not visit the state as a 'political tourist'," she said.
Sabitha wanted Shah to spell out clearly in the public meeting whether or not the Centre would accord national project status to Palamuru-Rangareddy. The Home Minister should also announce the Centre’s stand on sanctioning Navodaya schools and premier institutions like IIT, IIM and Medical colleges to the state, she said.