HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched an offensive to counter the narrative by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao during his Sunday’s press meet, with its leaders declaring that people were ready to usher in a BJP government in the state, and castigating the Chief Minister for the language used by him while speaking about their party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dr K. Laxman, senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, declared that he would pursue the Chief Minister and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government ‘like a shadow’ and highlight their failures in the Rajya Sabha and outside. Laxman said he was picked for the Rajya Sabha by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of long political service. “Why is Chandrashekar Rao so agitated at my Rajya Sabha membership? I am not someone who dropped in from the USA into a position of power,” he said.
He said, “India does not need a government that turns its people into drunkards as the TRS has done in Telangana, or turn the nation into one run by mafia as in the case of Hyderabad under the TRS rule.”
Party national vice president D.K. Aruna said the Chief Minister was unable to digest the BJP’s growth in Telangana, and that he was “shocked at the response to Modi’s public meeting in Hyderabad.” She also severely criticised Chandrashekar Rao “for the language used by him at the press conference,” adding, “It is the misfortune of Telangana that Chandrashekar Rao became the Chief Minister of Telangana. People were not aware of whom they were electing but now they do.”
Former TRS minister and now BJP MLA, Etala Rajendar, said Chandrashekar Rao still had not learnt his lessons that personal attacks on others did not work. “The people in Huzurabad proved it,” he said referring to his win in the by-poll from that constituency. “People believe that I am the one who can defeat the Chief Minister and I stand by my challenge that I will contest from Gajwel and defeat him,” he said.
The Chief Minister reached new lows by indulging in personal attacks on Modi, UP Chief Minister and others, Rajendar said, and urged Chandrashekar Rao to moderate his comments and not indulge in wanton abuse.
Meanwhile, in a statement, BJP state spokesperson N.V. Subhash said the Chief Minister’s long-winded press conference displayed fear of the BJP, and a realisation that the public mood in the state was fast turning against him and the ruling party. “KCR’s attacks were a feeble attempt to cover up his own failures and blame the Central government for the same,” he said. “In eight years of his rule, the only achievement of KCR was luring legislators of other parties into his party,” he added.
