KCR takes on Modi over Adani controversy

Hyderabad: BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao ratcheted up his campaign against the Narendra Modi government over the Adani controversy by stating that LIC, the public sector insurance company, had a large exposure in the troubled Group, putting the money that common people and small investors had invested at serious risk.

Replying to the debate on Appropriation Bill 2023 in the Assembly on Sunday, Rao criticised the PM for failing to inform the country about the Adani issue while calling Modi's speech in Parliament the "most disgusting" at a time when the nation was eager to know what action the Centre would initiate against the embattled company, but the PM said nothing.

Interestingly, using statistics, the CM lauded the Congress-led UPA government, asserting that Dr Manmohan Singh had done a better job as Prime Minister than Narendra Modi and that it had outperformed the current BJP-led NDA government in various sectors.

"Manmohan Singh performed better than Modi. But he never boasted about his achievements and discharged his duties quietly. This helped BJP to undertake propaganda against Manmohan Singh to mislead the people that no development happened during the UPA regime. I am not a Congressman.

Ironically, I have to give these statistics on Singh's achievements since the Congress leaders failed to do so. I am ready to quit if anyone proves these statistics wrong," Rao remarked.

Regarding the Adani issue, Rao maintained that the LIC had made substantial investments in the struggling company and that ever since the scam broke out, “billions of wealth of investors and shareholders had evaporated”.

“The country wanted to know what the Centre will do regarding the Adani situation because crores of common people have invested in LIC and are worried about their future. However, the PM remained silent in Parliament, and did not utter a single word on the issue. There was no assurance or no mention of constituting a probe committee by the PM. He was just beating about the bush,” Rao remarked.

The CM claimed that nearly 20 lakh Indians had given up their Indian citizenship and migrated to other countries in search of livelihood under Modi's rule in the last nine years.

Rao gave the BJP-led NDA abbreviation a new spin by terming it "No Data Available" government, while referring to the replies provided by the Centre that no data was available on the questions posed by the MPs on crucial matters.

The CM prophesied that the Modi government would be voted out of power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and expressed confidence that the BRS would triumph. If this were to occur, the BRS government would implement new irrigation, power, agricultural, drinking water, industrial, and infrastructure policies in the country.

Stating that in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi won and Indian people lost, Rao said, "I started BRS with an aim that people should win elections, and not parties. By electing the BRS government in Telangana, crores of poor and needy in the state have won by availing Aasara pensions, free power to agriculture, uninterrupted power supply to all sectors, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Dalit Bandhu, fee reimbursement, scholarships, Shaadi Mubarak, Kalyana Lakshmi, and KCR Kits."

After the Bangladesh War, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was hailed as invincible, but one decision by the Allahabad High Court against her altered the trajectory of Indian politics and toppled the government.

"Today, Modi might look invincible. But one should realise that power is temporary and people will react as and when a situation arises and will teach a fitting lesson with their votes," he added.

Rao termed Modi's goal of India achieving a $5 trillion economy as a  "joke" and "silly" adding that the target should have been bigger. "The US economy reached 25 trillion dollars, while that of China is 18.3 trillion dollars, Japan 4.3 trillion dollars, Germany 4 trillion dollars. The Indian economy could reach just 3.5 trillion dollars. At least our aim should be big. We should dare to dream," the CM said.