Congress Lying To Maharashtra Voters, Using Telangana Funds: KTR

BRS working president K T Rama Rao today accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of deceiving the people of Maharashtra by falsely claiming accomplishments in Telangana, and also misusing Rs 300 crore of Telangana government funds to campaign in that State.

KTR said that those funds, which were supposed to be allocated for local development projects and for fulfilling the promises made to the people of Telangana, were being diverted for Congress campaign expenses.

KTR said that Gandhi had been telling the people of Maharashtra that the Congress government in Telangana was offering a Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance to women, which was not true.

KTR also claimed that the Congress had failed to fulfil many of the promises it made to the people of Telangana, including the long-promised farmer loan waiver, which remained incomplete. He urged the people of Maharashtra to fact-check the Congress' claims, and enquire of Telangana's people the actual state of the Congress' guarantees.

He also called on Maharashtra's voters to support regional parties rather than national parties including the Congress and the BJP, and said that regional parties had been effective in countering the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, while the Congress had proven unable to do so.

KTR also alleged that funds from corrupt practices in Telangana were being funnelled into Maharashtra's elections, and called for strict oversight from the Election Commission. He said that the Commission should take direct control of monitoring the borders between Maharashtra and Telangana to prevent illegal flow of funds across State lines.

He recalled that in the past the Central government had flagged the use of funds from the Karnataka Valmiki scam during the Telangana elections but that no corrective measures had been implemented. He insisted that it was the responsibility of the Central Election Commission to ensure that Telangana's money did not impact the Maharashtra elections, and that the Commission needed to be vigilant to maintain electoral integrity.

KTR also brought up the allegations of corruption against minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. KTR said that Reddy sat in the cabinet and awarded contracts to his own son's firm named Raghava Constructions. He criticized Reddy for claiming that Raghava Constructions was superior to well-established firms like L&T and NCL, and demanded that the minister give a clear response on the basis for the disqualifications of the much more reputed companies and the reasoning behind the awarding of the contract to his own company.

He also said that despite a recent investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into the minister, neither the ED nor the minister had made any public statement. However, after the ED's involvement Adani met with the same minister, raising further questions about these associations, KTR said, and insisted that the minister disclose the details of his meeting with Adani.

KTR also claimed that Reddy was just the tip of the iceberg, and that the Congress government in the State was in general massively corrupt. He said that he would soon expose the corruption of the Congress in front of the national media and political parties. He also said that he would expose the double standards of Rahul Gandhi who was speaking in Delhi about crony capitalism but overlooking the same in Telangana.

The BRS leader also addressed the issue of land acquisition in Kodangal. He claimed that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was allegedly seizing land for a pharma company owned by his son-in-law, and expressed solidarity with the people of Kodangal, who he said faced police action, including lathi charges, while protesting these acquisitions. KTR said that it was unheard of for a district Collector to face public resistance to this extent in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and demanded an official explanation.