Harish Rao strongly opposed Nadda, saying that the BJP state president had conceded that the BRS could not be defeated in Telangana unless the former declared VRS (Voluntary Retirement).
UPDATE – 10:52 PM, Friday – December 16 22
Hyderabad: Finance Minister T Harish Rao has torn down allegations made against BRS by BJP national chairman JP Nadda, saying the center is mimicking Telangana’s welfare and development programs and doing nothing for the country. He mocked Nada’s vow to take power in Telangana state, noting the latter’s failure to lead his party to victory in parliamentary elections in his home state of Himachal Pradesh.
Harish Rao strongly opposed Nadda, saying that the BJP state president had conceded that the BRS could not be defeated in Telangana unless the former declared VRS (Voluntary Retirement). He said Nadda was struggling with rhyme, but did not clarify why the BJP could not fulfill its poll promises to put Rs 1.5 lakh in bank accounts, boost the value of the rupee, double farmers’ income and provide tens of millions of jobs. He asked BJP leaders to release a white paper on BJP’s contribution to the development of Telangana. He reminded that Nadda himself forgot about his commitment to establish a Flourosis Institute in Munugode, even after the foundation had been laid.
The finance minister said BRS had implemented programs such as Mission Bhagiratha, Rythu Bandhu, Kalyana Lakshmi and KCR Kits, although these were not committed in the election manifesto. The Telangana government has been winning awards from the Union government in different areas due to the proactive measures of the Chief Minister. He wondered if the center would stop awarding as Telangana had won awards in all fields. “With the success of our schemes, the BJP government at the center is following them. They want to gain visibility, not praise the Telangana government,” he added.
Harish Rao suggested that the BJP state president update himself and not just read the speeches of state leaders within the party. “The people of Telangana know about BJP’s intrigue and divisive politics. We can also file an order against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for all discrimination in Telangana offensive accusations, but we have exercised restraint,” he said.
The finance minister has slammed the Modi government for borrowing 1 trillion rupees a month, which has led to an increase in central debt of up to 100 trillion rupees over the past eight years. He scoffed at the BJP leaders’ arguments that BJP ruled the country’s twin-engine growth and demanded to know why they were lagging behind Telangana in all sectors. He reminded that Telangana topped the list in terms of state revenue. “The BJP is pushing the country into debt and Telangana’s debt is within FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) limits, ranking 23rd out of 28 states,” he said.
Responding to union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s ‘weak Hindi’ remarks, Harish Rao said Telangana people may have weak Hindi but they are both honest and better than the BJP government which is not only weak but has weakened the country . Instead of making sweeping remarks, he advised union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy to release pending funds from the center to Telangana. He said Telangana received less GST compensation than other states.
