BJP Win Will Help Only Etala: Harish Rao

Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao today criticised BJP leader and former minister Etala Rajender for having "failed" to develop Huzurabad during his stint as the MLA of the constituency.

The leader made these remarks while attending a party program where about 100 leaders and activists of the Congress and the BJP joined the TRS fold in his presence, in Huzurabad's Veenavanka area.

Rao welcomed them into the party and urged them to support the state government's efforts to bring development and welfare to the state.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, "Leaders from other parties of the state are slowly joining the TRS as they have realised that our party is committed to developing Telangana."

The leader then launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre and flayed it for "burdening" the people of the state and the nation by "raising fuel and gas charges", and claimed, "The leaders of the BJP state unit should get at least Rs 5,000 crore for the development of Telangana and then talk of elections and other matters. MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar who has not spent a penny on the development of Karimnagar goes around making tall claims. This is absurd. Unlike the saffron party, our party will always prioritise the wellbeing of the public," he claimed.

He also accused the Modi government of failing to give Rs 15 lakh each to every Indian by retrieving black money stashed away in foreign banks, and alleged, "The Modi regime has not kept many of its most publicised promises. It is suppressing the people of India. The farmers of our country have been protesting against the Centre's new farm laws for months now. But the Centre has made no real effort to resolve the issue. Why should people vote for such a party?"

Talking about the upcoming by-election, the minister then urged the people of the constituency to support the TRS and added, "If the BJP candidate Etala Rajender wins the by-election, it will be a personal victory for him and for the BJP. Their win will not bring any development or growth to the region. However, if the TRS candidate for the seat, Gellu Srinivas Yadav, wins, he will surely devote himself to developing Huzurabad with the support of our government. I hope the voters will support the TRS. I would advise them not to get swayed by Rajender's attempts to lure them with sops."