HYDERABAD: BJP president J.P. Nadda on Sunday dramatically offered the people of Telangana a deal, saying that if they wanted to see the “highly corrupt” Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and his family members in jail, then they should elect a BJP government in the state.
Addressing a public meeting at Nagarkurnool, the BJP national chief asked the people if Rao was corrupt and whether he should be sent to jail. When the crowd roared a loud approval, he said, “unko jail janaa hai to kamal ko khilna” (the BJP should be voted to power if they have to be jailed).
Nadda’s announcement on the timing of arrest, which according to him would be only after Assembly polls, and only if the BJP was voted to power, came in the backdrop of the principal opposition Congress questioning the delay over the arrest of Rao’s daughter and MLC, K. Kavitha in the Delhi liquor scam.
While Nadda’s talk of arrest came a day after minister K.T. Rama Rao rushed to the national capital to meet several ministers, a deviation from the party’s earlier stand to ignore the Centre, also left the state BJP leaders wondering if the Central leadership was rethinking on arresting Kavitha in the liquor scam.
Describing the BRS as ‘Brashtachar Rakshasa Samiti’, Nadda said that the family members of Chandrashekar Rao were the only beneficiaries since the formation of Telangana state, for which so many had struggled and fought, while the development of people was totally neglected.
In contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took several initiatives to reduce poverty from 22 per cent to 10 per cent. Leaders from many countries hailed Modi as a global leader, a hero and a reformer, he said. Sadly, Congress leaders were unable to digest the popularity of Modi and were criticising him on caste lines and about his humble origins, he said.
As part of Maha Jan Sampark Abhiyan, a public meeting named Nava Sankalp Sabha was conducted at Nagarkurnool on Sunday.
Nadda said that voting for other parties meant a vote for dynastic rule. The BRS, the RJD, SP, TMC, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena were owned by families, and voting for any of them would only and primarily benefit their respective families, he said. A vote for the BJP, however, would benefit all of India and its people, he said.
Nadda termed the opposition parties’ meeting held in Patna as a ‘photo-session’ act.
Nadda said that 140 crore Indians wished to make Modi the Prime Minister, all over again. Modi had developed India from the tenth to the fifth biggest economy in the world, he said. The Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect the Indian economy due to the vision of Modi, he said.
Neighboring countries were reeling under economic crises, but India had sustained its strong economic base, he said. Earlier, India used to import mobile phones and now it produces 97 per cent of mobile phones in the country, he explained.
The BJP national president said that the Central government allocated '11,300 crore for developmental works in Telangana, including for AIIMS at Bibinagar, remodeling of Secunderabad railway station, MMTS and Vande Bharat trains.
The Centre had developed 5,000 km of national highways, electrified and doubled the railway lines in Telangana, he explained. Industrial corridors and textile parks have also been sanctioned for the state, he said.
BJP state president Bandi Sanjay, Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Mahendranath Pande, Rajya Sabha member Dr K. Laxman, party vice-president D.K. Aruna and other senior leaders were present.
