Khammam: Congress president Rahul Gandhi and TD supremo and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu campaigned for the first time from a common stage here on Wednesday, marking a massive shift in political equations leading to the general elections next year.
With Naidu by his side, Mr Gandhi took on both the TRS and the BJP at his meeting here. “Defeating the ‘B’ team in Telangana is very important to overpower the ‘A’ team in Delhi,” he said.
Mr Rahul Gandhi said TS Chief Minister K. Chandrsekhar Rao Rao and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were working together on all issues. Mr Rao had supported Mr Modi on all decisions taken up by NDA government whether it was demonetisation, Gabbar Singh Tax (GST) or the no-confidence motion. Mr Rahul wondered why then Rao and his party never criticised the Rafale deal and supported issues raised by the Congress.
Mr Rahul Gandhi said that there was no difference between the BJP and the TRS with regard to not solving the problems of the people. “KCR is cheating the people of the state. He did not get the assurances made for Telangana in the AP Reorganisation Act implemented. Bayyaram steel factory, tribal university in Khammam and Kazipet railway coach factory have not been secured from the Centre,” he said.
“Telangana statehood was given to get justice in matters of “Neellu, Nidhulu and Niyamakalu (water, funds and jobs)”. But no problem was solved in the four year rule of KCR. Pranahita lift irrigation project was designed by the Congress government and it allocated Rs 50,000 crore for it. KCR renamed the project as Kaleshwaram and increased the cost to Rs 90,000 crore,” the Congress president said. “Mr Rao enhanced the cost by Rs 40,000 crore just to rename it.”
He said there was a lot of corruption in Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha. Telangana, which had a Rs 17,000 crore surplus, is saddled with Rs 2 lakh crore debts. This debt falls on every family in the state. No youth got jobs except those in KCR’s family,” Mr Rahul Gandhi said. The TRS government failed to check suicides among farmers. “Farmers who asked for the right price to their produce were lathicharged and their rights on the land were repealed,” he alleged. The loan waiver was done in four installments which did not ease the farmers’ burden.
The Congress president listed out assurances from the Congress manifesto. SHG groups will be paid Rs 1 lakh to encourage their activities. The Congress on coming to power will waive Rs 2 lakh farm loan and MSP will be paid to 7 crops. The families of Telangana martyrs will be paid Rs 10 lakh and cases against T-fighters will be lifted.
