HYDERABAD: Predicting that the BJP would draw a blank in the February 11 municipal elections, TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Wednesday said that because of this fear, the saffron party roped in its national president Nitin Nabin for campaigning in the state.
Speaking to reporters here, he alleged that the BJP was trying to provoke voters in the name of religion and urged people to be vigilant against such moves.
The TPCC chief demanded that BJP state president N Ramchander Rao and other leaders explain how much funds were allocated to Telangana in the Union Budget, despite the BJP having eight MPs from the state in the Lok Sabha.
He alleged that the Union government was not releasing funds to Telangana as mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Act. “Injustice has been done to the state on several fronts, including Bayyaram steel plant. The Centre did not accord national project status to any irrigation project and did not sanction Navodaya schools to the state,” he said.
Though the state government prepared plans under the “Telangana Rising 2047” vision and attracted investments from national and international institutions, the Centre was not cooperating in setting up industries in the state, he further alleged.
The TPCC chief also said that several key projects, including Regional Ring Road, Metro Rail and Musi rejuvenation project, were being neglected by the Centre. He dared the BJP leaders to an open debate on the release of Central funds. Noting that Telangana’s contribution to the national GDP was 5.01%, he said that the state should have received Rs 3.76 lakh crore, but got only Rs1.84 lakh crore over the last five years from the Centre. He added that over the past five years, Telangana contributed Rs 4.32 lakh crore to the Centre through GST, but received only Rs 3.76 lakh crore in return.
The Union Budget accorded priority to northern states while discriminating against southern states, which was against the spirit of federalism, the TPCC chief opined.
Alleging that the Union Budget was aimed at diverting taxes paid by the people of Telangana to Gujarat and northern states, he asked: “What’s the contribution of Gujarat to the country?”