HYDERABAD: IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday sought to turn the tables on the Opposition parties which accused the BRS government of being a family. He said that he agreed with their accusation that BRS is run by a family.
“I agree with you. Ours is a family rule. But the family is four crore people of Telangana. KCR is the head of the family. It’s a ‘vasudaika kutumbam,” he said.
Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the Assembly, he recalled how KCR had transformed Telangana into a prosperous State. He said that the country wants a double impact leader like Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as he can take forward development and welfare and not a double engine sarkar which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Terming the BJP-led Centre’s slogan Sab ka Saath as “Sab bakwas”, Rama Rao alleged that PM Modi had cheated the common man while favouring his corporate friends.
“The State is growing very fast because of the visionary leadership of KCR. Every section of society is reaping the benefit of welfare schemes. Show me one person in the State who is not a beneficiary of one welfare scheme or the other,” he asked. He reeled off the names of the welfare schemes and how they helped the poor and the needy.
“KCR as an uncle performed the marriages of girls under Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak. He provided quality education to girls belonging to BCs, SCs, STs and minorities,” Rama Rao said, and made a mention of old age pensions, Rythu Bandhu for farmers, and so on.
He came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for the runaway inflation which was at its highest in 30 years, and unemployment which is at its highest level in 45 years.
Rama Rao said that under the BJP dispensation, the price of LPG has gone up to Rs 1,200 per cylinder from Rs 400 when Modi took over as Prime Minister in 2014. “Petrol prices in India are the highest in the world,” he said.
Think about Modi’s priorities: KTR to BJP
Rama Rao urged BJP leaders levelling allegations that heavy corruption took place in the execution of the Kaleshwaram project, to reflect for a minute on whether Modi’s priorities were right. Modi’s priority was the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad but ours is farmers. “Is it wise to spend Rs 1.4 lakh crore for the bullet train and is it a crime to construct Kaleshwaram which will irrigate parched lands,” he asked.
The minister lashed out at BJP MLA Raghunandan Rao for saying that there was no 24x7 power for the farm sector. He said that power connections had increased in the State from 19 lakh to 27 lakh in the past eight years and asked the MLA whether any BJP-ruled state was supplying power free of cost. He said that what the BJP had achieved was waiving loans of Rs 12 lakh crore of corporates in the last eight years.
Rahul Gandhi not spared
Rama Rao also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for not campaigning in the Gujarat elections and for not even taking out his Bharat Jodo Yatra through that State even though he was close to it during his yatra.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhatti Vikramarka took objection to Rama Rao’s criticism and said the purpose of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was to unite the country and not politics.
In fact, it was BRS which sent all its leaders and ministers to Munugode for the byelection, Vikramarka pointed out. He said about 100 leaders including ministers camped in Munugode. Former Minister and MLA D Sridhar Babu sought several clarifications from the minister and wanted to know if power was being supplied to the borewells. “If what the minister said was true, why should farmers stage protests in front of sub-stations,” he asked.
Speech a cover-up: Eatala
BJP MLA Eatala Rajender accused Rama Rao of covering up the failures of the State government with his marathon speech. Alleging that farmers were facing problems with the Dharani portal, he recalled that the government formed a sub-committee to resolve the issues in the portal. “Where is the subcommittee’s report and why is it that the government has not acted on it,” he asked.