HYDERABAD: BJP state president N Ramchander Rao on Saturday alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was “suffering from a phobia” of Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and was targeting him at every opportunity.
In a chitchat with the media at the party’s state office in Hyderabad, Ramchander Rao claimed sarcastically that people would soon celebrate a “half-century” of the chief minister visiting Delhi 50 times during his 22-month tenure. He alleged that the chief minister had failed in administration and in appointing the right officers to manage the state.
The BJP state chief accused the Telangana government of pushing the state into severe fiscal debt, claiming that even government employees’ salaries were not being paid on time. He criticised the chief minister for announcing Rs 1,000 crore for Osmania University in such a situation.
Responding to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s charge of “vote theft”, Ramchander Rao alleged that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was creating propaganda against the Election Commission of India and instilling fear among the public. Sharing a personal example, he said that when his father died three years ago, there was a process to delete his name from the electoral rolls, which required an officer’s verification. He claimed that Gandhi had not checked the functioning of the system before levelling allegations.
On the CBI probe into the Kaleshwaram project, the BJP leader said the agency would act only after completing its internal processes and obtaining clearances from higher officials. He questioned how Kishan or PM Modi could be blamed for the delay. He demanded that the CBI investigate the entire project, including the involvement of officials and politicians.