KTR urges people not to hand over power to madcaps

HYDERABAD: Two madcaps are roaming around and urging one and all to give them a chance to rule the state, but the people should think wisely. If the power is given to them, that would spell the end of progress for the Telangana state -- Minister K.T. Rama Rao warned here on Thursday.

 His references were to TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy and state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Rama Rao participated in various developmental works during his tour of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. He inaugurated the tahsildar’s office constructed at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore and the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule BC welfare girls residential school costing Rs 4 crore at Gandhi Nagar in Ghanpur mandal.

 He later distributed 994 double-bedroom houses constructed by the Singareni Collieries at a cost of Rs 229 crore in Ramappa colony.

 The BRS leaders made elaborate arrangements to give the minister a grand welcome. They mobilised a large number of people from the surrounding villages for the public meeting at the BR Ambedkar stadium in Ghanpur mandal.

Addressing the gathering, Rama Rao said that unlike in any other state, Telangana was implementing welfare schemes for all sections of the people. “The world’s biggest lift irrigation project, Kaleshwaram, is a feather on the cap of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district,” he said.

 Rama Rao said, “Like an elder brother of a family, K. Chandrasekhar Rao has introduced several schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu and Kalyana Lakshmi and is sanctioning pensions for various sections of the people.”

He said TPCC president Revanth Reddy was roaming around the state in the name of a padayatra and begging the people of Telangana to give one chance to the Congress. “The people had given more than 10 chances and the Congress ruled the country and the state for more than 50 years, but what did it do for the people, he asked.

“People suffered a lot due to frequent disruption of power supply during the Congress rule. Several farmers died as they had to go at midnight to switch on the meters for motors due to irregular supply of electricity, and experienced  either electric shock or snake bite in the united Andhra Pradesh,” the minister said.

Rama Rao also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he deceived the people by promising them that a huge sum of Rs 15 lakh would  be deposited into their Jan Dan bank accounts, but “all the money went into the pockets of Adani and Ambani.”

Modi had even promised unemployed youth he would provide them 2 crore job opportunities every year but only betrayed them, the minister said.

Referring to Revanth Reddy and BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay, Rama Rao said a mad man was saying he would blast Pragathi Bhavan. ” To be one up, another mad man is saying he will blast the Secretariat. If the people give power to such mad persons, then the entire Telangana, which is flourishing now, will be destroyed.”

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at the double bedroom houses distributed by Rama Rao on Thursday. Hundreds of shelter-less poor women staged a dharna alleging that the local MLA Ramana Reddy was handing over the houses to ineligible people and to his followers by ignoring the rights of the eligible poor families.

The police intervened and took them  into custody.

Ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao, G. Jagadish Reddy, Satyavathi Rathode, deputy chairman of the legislative council Banda Prakash, MLCs P. Srinivas Reddy, Madhusudhana Chary, MLA Gandra Venkataramana Reddy, district collector Bhavesh Mishra, additional collector TS Divakar, Singareni CMD M. Sridhar, directors Balram, N.V.K. Srinivas and Venkateshwar Reddy were among those present.