Congress Slams KCR For No Package To Telangana

Leader Of Opposition in the Telangana State Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir slammed the Centre for giving a financial package to Andhra Pradesh but ignoring Telangana.

He also criticized the KCR-led government for failing to pursuade the Centre to fulfill the promises made to Telangana in the 2014 A P Reorganization Act.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Shabbir Ali pointed out that the package of Rs. 2.25 lakh crores given to Andhra Pradesh under the 2014 Act, announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on September 8, had nothing in it for Telangana's welfare.

"At the time of the bifurcation, the then UPA government had made several assurances of assistance to Telangana, too, which included setting up of a steel plant at Bayyaram, a 4,000 MW power plant at Ramagundam, horticulture and tribal universities, Central institutions and other similar infrastructure. However, not a single promise made in the Act has come to fruition so far," he said.

Shabbir Ali slammed Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for not apprising the Centre of the promises made by the previous union government. He demanded that the CM apprise the Centre of the huge debts incurred by the treasury while undertaking the several irrigation and water projects in the State. He also demanded that the Centre fulfill all the promises that were made to Telangana in the Re-organization Act, starting with extending a separate financial package for Telangana on par with that announced for Andhra Pradesh.

"While the Centre has released Rs. 2.25 lakh crores for Andhra Pradesh under the special package, it has nothing for us, although most districts in Telangana are backward. Telangana, too, was affected by the bifurcation. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Telangana last month, the Chief Minister asked for his blessings instead of apprising him of the funds promised by UPA. KCR and Modi both flattered each other, but skipped discussions on the key issues concerning Telangana. No projects other than Mission Kakatiya and the water grid scheme have Central funding. The TRS has failed to get the State its due share from the Centre," Shabbir Ali said.

He suggested that the Chief Minister take an all-Party delegation along with him to New Delhi to seek funds for Telangana from the Centre if he was unable to do it himself.

"On more than two occasions, KCR promised on the floor of the Assembly that he would take an all-Party delegation to the national capital to represent issues like the merger of the seven mandals of Khammam with AP for the Polavaram project. But that did not happen," he said.

Given that Andhra Pradesh's multi-purpose Polavaram project was accorded National Project status recently, he asked KCR whether Kaleshwaram would get that status as well.