HYDERABAD: BJP state president N Ramchander Rao has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of showing disrespect to Telangana’s people by allegedly denying appointment to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, while the latter could easily secure an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union Ministers.
Ramchander Rao also criticised Gandhi for skipping Parliament sessions where critical issues were being discussed. During a visit to Delhi on Monday, Rao met with BJP national leaders, including Sunil Bansal, Arvind Menon, and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He is scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda on Tuesday.
The BJP state president said that Revanth Reddy visited Delhi 46 times since becoming the chief minister but could not get an audience with the Congress party leadership, which he said was an insult to the people of the state. He further accused the Congress of wrongly blaming the BJP and Union government on the issue of Backward Classes (BC) reservations.
He pointed out that the BJP supported the BC reservation bill in the state Assembly but criticized Congress for supporting a 10% reservation under the BC quota on religious grounds, which he said his party opposes.
Ramchander Rao raised concerns about the Congress government’s failure to seek legal expertise before sending the BC reservation bill or recent ordinance to the central government, noting that such matters fall under the Ninth Schedule. He referred to Tamil Nadu and I.R. Coelho cases, which are under judicial review, and argued that the Congress is aware of the 50% reservation cap and yet continues to blame the BJP for political gain.
Addressing factionalism in the BJP, he said that disciplinary action would be taken against those who crossed the party line, asserting that there is no distinction between new and old members. He expressed confidence that both state and national leadership would resolve any internal issues, big or small.