RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: Stating that Lord Rama belongs to everyone, Sircilla MLA KT Rama Rao on Sunday asserted that even the BRS can adopt the “Jai Sri Ram” slogan.
Addressing a booth committee meeting in Vemulawada, the BRS working president expressed concerns over making Hyderabad a common capital for Telangana or Andhra Pradesh or turning it into a Union Territory (UT) after the 10-year-long term, as mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, ends on June 2. He said only the pink party had the power to prevent this “injustice”.
“They [the BJP] sought votes in 2014 by referring to everyone as bade bhai, but the chota bhai (referring to the saffron party) has resorted to cheating people to stay in power in 2024,” Rama Rao commented.
He alleged that the Union government collected Rs 30 lakh crore under the “garb of road cess” but waived half of that amount for the Ambanis and other mega corporates, he added.
The BRS working president alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi insulted Telangana and cheated its people in the last 10 years. He questioned what Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who is also the BJP national general secretary, has done for the segment.
Stating that the contest in Karimnagar is between the BJP and BRS, Rama Rao predicted that the Congress would have to be content with a third-place finish in the constituency. He claimed that the locals are not acquainted with Velichala Rajender Rao, who was fielded by the Congress, and hinted at collusion between the grand old and the saffron parties. “Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Sanjay have a secret pact. This is why the Congress has fielded a dummy candidate to ‘fix’ the polls,” he claimed.
Rama Rao said that even party workers would struggle to recognise the Congress candidate, Rajender, if he were standing at the Tippapur bus stand without a party scarf.
‘Bogus’ promises
Rama Rao termed the promise of a Rs 500 bonus for paddy crops as “bogus” and criticised the delayed implementation of the six guarantees. He also expressed doubt about the longevity of free bus travel and electricity schemes after the Lok Sabha elections