HYDERABAD: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday said that byelections in Telangana are “unavoidable” and predicted a “resounding defeat” for the ruling Congress.
Addressing a meeting of the party leaders and activists from Bhadrachalam constituency at Telangana Bhavan, Rama Rao said that defections from BRS to Congress had exposed the weakness of the ruling party rather than strengthening it.
“If Congress has the courage, let them declare openly that these MLAs joined their party and face byelections. They are running scared of every election, from panchayat polls to bypolls. But the truth is simple — byelections cannot be avoided and defeat is certain for Congress,” he thundered.
The BRS leader also wondered why Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy was maintaining silence over the ED raids conducted at his residence a year ago. “Large sums of money were seized. But neither Ponguleti nor the Centre has explained anything. Why is he silent? Has he colluded with the BJP? Or is he playing into the hands of A Revanth Reddy, who himself is working in tandem with the BJP?” he asked.
Alleging that the Congress lacks the ability to govern and it survived only by blaming the previous BRS government, he said: “The honeymoon period is over for Revanth Reddy. People no longer trust Congress.”
“Just as Rama was crowned after vanavasam, Telangana will see the return of KCR. That is the people’s wish,” he said.