Political tourist Priyanka must learn from TS growth, says KTR

HYDERABAD: BRS working president and minister K.T.Rama Rao advised Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to use her visit as an "educational tour" rather than a "political tour" to learn about Telangana's achievements over the last nine years under the leadership of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

He stated that while landing at Shamshabad airport and entering the city, Priyanka will see beautiful roads, flyovers, cable bridges, and offices of world-renowned IT companies and that these developments in the city would serve as a learning experience for her.

"Hyderabad has been transformed into a cosmopolitan city in the last nine years. It welcomes lakhs of tourists. It also welcomes political tourists like Priyanka Gandhi from Delhi," Rama Rao remarked in a statement on Sunday.

Referring to Priyanka announcing the ‘Congress Youth declaration' in the public meeting on Monday, Rama Rao asked her to inform the people of Telangana about the number of posts filled by the Congress government in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. He said that the BRS government created 2.2 lakh government jobs and 22 lakh private jobs for youth in the last nine years.

He alleged that “political tourists” from other states were trying to provoke youth in Telangana with false claims. "How many vacant posts were filled by the Congress government through APPSC in the erstwhile AP," he asked.

He told Priyanka not to trust the "wrong script" handed out by local Congress leaders about the functioning of the BRS government and instead check the facts herself. "My advice to her is “Aao, Dekho, Seekho. Do not blindly believe the script written by your party leaders,” he remarked.

He suggested to Priyanka to ask the Congress leaders about the recent statements from actors like Rajinikanth that Hyderabad, which has developed faster than expected, was reminiscent of New York. "They may be a little shy, to tell the truth, but if asked a couple of times, they will tell her about the development made possible by the BRS government without hesitation," he said.

 He demanded that Congress tender an apology for the sacrifices of hundreds of young lives during the Telangana movement due to the delay in granting statehood to Telangana by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.