Actions Of Rahul Gandhi, Uttam Boon To BJP: D Arvind

Nizamabad MP and BJP leader Dharmapuri Arvind today said that the presence of TPCC head N Uttam Kumar Reddy in Telangana's political arena, and of leader Rahul Gandhi at the national level were assets for the saffron party, and would help it continue its winning streak.

Speaking to the media, the MP alleged that both the TRS and the Telangana unit of the Congress were hand-in-glove with each other in the state, and that the "secret alliance" between the two parties had been proved on the floor of the Lok Sabha today during the discussions on the establishment of a turmeric board in Nizamabad.

"The Congress is getting weaker and weaker in Telangana because of Uttam Kumar Reddy's attitude. His actions often end up alienating the party even more from the people. And, what right does he have anyway to criticise the BJP when he himself did not do anything to help the people of the state during his tenure? He has only worked to secure personal gains - many believe that he had even received bribes from industrialist Rameswar Rao Jupally for allowing the latter to carry out illegal mining in his constituency," Arvind alleged.

Singling out Congress MP A Revanth Reddy, he also alleged that the latter had "surrendered" himself to the ruling party instead of opposing it as a leader of the Opposition.

Referring to the statement of Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala on the issue of the establishment of a turmeric board in Nizamabad, he claimed that the minister had made clear the fact that the BJP-led Centre had established a much better extension board than the turmeric board the state's leaders were "clamouring" for.

However, Arvind cleverly skipped making a mention of Rupala's claim, that the Centre had received no proposal from the MP himself about the turmeric board, though the former had promised the turmeric farmers of his constituency that he would initiate the founding of the same.

The setting up of the Nizamabad turmeric board has become a source of much strife not only among the leaders in Telangana but also between the state and the Centre.