HYDERABAD: Perturbed over the allegations of BJP national president Amit Shah on Telangana government’s failures, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao dared him to prove his allegations or apologise to Telangana for trying to hamper the state’s image, investments and development.
KCR has accused the ruling BJP of not supporting Telangana adequately despite significant contributions from the southern state to the national exchequer in the form of highest GDP growth, taxes and export earnings.
Shah, who kick-started a three-day tour of Telangana on Monday, charged the TRS government of miserably failing in implementing most of the Union government’s schemes. He also alleged that the TRS government had failed in meeting bare minimum needs of people like toilets, housing and drinking water in the past three years.
Shah has also blamed the TRS government of failing to utilise Centre’s support though the Union government led by BJP had extended over Rs 1 lakh crore of funds to Telangana under various schemes and projects. Countering this, Rao said the state has so far received only Rs 67,390 crore funds under central devolution, “which Telangana was constitutionally entitled to under the federal cooperative structure“.
Rao said Telangana was mandated to receive central funds as share in tax collections like any other state in the country and that the Union government was not doing any undue favours by releasing the legitimate funds.
Further, Rao said he was pained over the allegations of Shah and that “such blatant lies and allegations by the president of the party in power at the Centre could raise suspicions among the investors’ community .“
Shah, during the tour that ended on Wednesday, exuded the confidence of coming to power in Telangana in 2019 elections through continuously exposing and fighting against the failures of the TRS government.
Rao said his latest survey showed that BJP will not win a single assembly seat as against “five seats won as a fluke in 2014 elections. BJP could not win a single seat in the GHMC elections held subsequently, reflecting their real strength“.
He also accused BJP of resorting to divisive communal politics by opposing the reservations that the TRS government proposed for Muslims. Telangana BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao said KCR was “clearly and heavily rattled with Shah’s visit being highly successful“.
