HYDERABAD: Asserting that his government would continue its focus on welfare and development, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday launched a scathing attack on BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao over his absence from public life and called upon Congress workers to stage protests demanding KCR resign as Leader of the Opposition.
With the Assembly session due to begin on September 7, Revanth asked why the Leader of the Opposition who had drawn Rs 1.24 crore in salary over 1,000 days should remain away from the people and the House.
He said the government had spent another Rs 22 crore on KCR’s security and other facilities during the period. “If a government employee fails to report for duty for a year, they are dismissed. What should be done with KCR?” he asked.
The chief minister said KCR had not met the poor, women, students, farmers, Dalits and Adivasis even for a single day in the past 1,000 days. He said the BRS chief had largely confined himself to his farmhouse, stepping out only on occasions such as his grandson’s hospital visit or the death of a relative.
Revanth said he had not taken even an hour’s leave in the same period and challenged KCR to face him in the Assembly.
“I will speak about all these issues in the Assembly,” he said. “If KCR wants justice for Telangana, he should come to the Assembly. I am ready for a debate on what KCR did in ten years and what my government has achieved in 1,000 days.”
The chief minister was speaking at a public meeting at the Amberpet Municipal Ground after inaugurating the Moosarambagh Bridge. His attack came with the Congress government completing 1,000 days in office and preparing for the Assembly session, giving the absence of the Leader of the Opposition a sharper political edge.
Revanth asked Congress workers to hold protests and rallies from September 1 to 6 demanding KCR’s resignation as Leader of the Opposition. The main protest would be held at Indira Park on September 6.
He also revived his criticism of the previous government over public finances and the KCR family’s alleged acquisition of large tracts of land for farmhouses.
‘KCR family built farmhouses, poor waited for ration cards’
He alleged that KCR’s family had built farmhouses spread across hundreds of acres while poor families were still waiting for basic entitlements such as ration cards. “The ration card represents the dignity of the poor,” he said, questioning why the previous government had failed to address such issues.
Revanth kept the Congress government’s record in the background of the political attack, citing the completion of 1,000 days of what he described as “people’s governance”. He said the government was shifting Telangana from what he called a phase of destruction towards development, with its focus on poor families, women, farmers, students, Dalits and tribals.
Among the measures he cited were seven lakh Indiramma houses, including one lakh for poor families in Hyderabad; the resolution of the SC categorisation issue; the BC caste census; and policies for gig workers, sports, IT, tourism and endowments.
He said the government had also released around `6,000 crore towards retirement-benefit arrears within two months, against around `8,000 crore left pending by the previous government, and had renewed health security cards for employees and their families.
The government, he said, was also constructing a new Osmania General Hospital at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore. Around Rs 3,500 crore had been spent through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to assist people in need, he added.
On healthcare infrastructure, Revanth said the government had decided to name three TIMS hospitals after prominent leaders and social reformers. The Alwal hospital will be named after former Chief Minister T Anjaiah, the LB Nagar hospital after Konda Laxman Bapuji and the Warangal hospital after Professor Jayashankar.
He questioned why the previous government had not built a new Osmania hospital despite the existing facility facing flooding problems.
Revanth also returned to the state’s debt position, saying Telangana had been handed over after bifurcation with a surplus of around `16,000 crore, while the BRS government had accumulated substantial debt. The state was now required to meet large principal and interest payments every month, he said.
For now, however, the political contest was less about another list of schemes than about who would turn up to defend a record.