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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Khammam in Telangana Sunday has sparked a war of words between the leaders of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the state unit of the Congress. Taking objection to Rahul’s statement that the BRS was the B team of the BJP, BRS parliamentary party leader K Keshava Rao questioned Rahul Gandhi’s credentials to lead an anti-BJP Opposition.
“Who is Rahul Gandhi to say not to invite the BRS to anti-BJP meetings when the BRS is the one leading the anti-BJP charge,” Keshava Rao said. “We think Gandhi is not in a position to lead any Opposition alliance that can bring down the BJP,” he added.
Senior Telangana Congress leader and TPCC (Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee) Political Affairs Committee (PAC) convener Mohammed Ali Shabbir said Rahul Gandhi’s speech during the Telangana Jana Garjana Sabha in Khammam has rattled BRS leaders.
Shabbir Ali said that Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in Karnataka had effectively exposed the corruption of the BJP government in that state, ultimately leading to its downfall. He claimed that BRS leaders were now apprehensive of facing similar consequences in Telangana.
Shabbir Ali claimed that the fear of the Congress leader’s influence compelled Health Minister T Harish Rao and other BRS leaders to watch the speech live. He emphasized that their prompt criticism of the speech demonstrated the significance they attributed to Rahul Gandhi’s words.
“The show of Congress strength has shaken KCR and BRS to the core. Rahul Gandhi’s speech has left them speechless,’’ said TPCC Chief A Revanth Reddy.
The Congress leader expressed disappointment over the alleged obstructions created by the BRS-led government during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Telangana. He claimed that hundreds of vehicles heading to the public meeting venue in Khammam were forcibly stopped using police force, while the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) refused to provide buses for the event, despite its autonomous status. He blamed Transport Minister Ajay Kumar, who hails from Khammam, for the refusal of the TSRTC to provide buses.
One of the key issues raised by Rahul Gandhi during his speech was the alleged Kaleshwaram Project scam. Shabbir Ali claimed that Health Minister T Harish Rao, who held the Irrigation portfolio earlier, appeared particularly fearful as the project was under his purview. He criticised the state government for escalating the project’s cost from approximately Rs 30,000 crore to nearly Rs 1,40,000 crore. “Let the BRS government come up with a White Paper on Kaleshwaram Project giving details of when the Detailed Project Report was prepared and when it was approved and also explain when and why the project cost escalated. It should explain how it plans to repay the loans of over Rs 87,000 crore it borrowed in the name of Kaleshwaram Project,” he demanded.
“The success of the Telangana Jana Garjana in Khammam has sent shockwaves among BRS leaders. They are now expected to resort to various tactics in an attempt to regain public attention,” he said while asserting that Chief Minister KCR and his ministers have realised that they are heading for a humiliating defeat in the upcoming Assembly elections.
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