KCR iS Raja Of Cheap Political Gimmicks: Congress

The Leader Of Opposition (LOP) in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir today lampooned Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao as the "raja of cheap political gimmicks and failed poll promises".

Addressing the media at the CLP office in Hyderabad along with MLC Akula Lalitha, Congress whip in the Council T Santhosh Kumar and the newly elected Yellareddy MLA Jajala Surender, Shabbir Ali said that KCR should take lessons from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whose poll commitments of waivers of farm loans of upto Rs. 2 lakhs and MSP support were fulfilled in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan within hours of the swearing in.

He said that while the credibility of the Congress was clearly visible, KCR was still resorting to delaying tactics as he (KCR) lacked the commitment and honesty to implement all the poll promises - KCR had announced new schemes with effect from April 2019, while the Congress CMs (in the three states) had declared their programs immediately, he pointed out.

"Unlike KCR and the TRS, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have become role models of honouring poll promises immediately, and have enhanced the image of political leaders," he said.

Shabbir Ali contended that the TRS government and KCR had executed only such poll promises where they had huge personal financial gains, and not those that would genuinely help the welfare of the poor and the backward sections of society.

Commenting on the recent disqualification proceedings against four TRS MLCs Bhoopathi Reddy, Konda Murali, Ramulu Naik and K Yadava Reddy for joining the Congress, he said that KCR and the TRS had suddenly woken up to the existence of the Constitution and the Anti-Defection Act.

"Where was the TRS' lofty sense of constitutional jurisprudence when 25 of the Congress, the TDP and the YSRCP MLAs and MLCs were admitted into the TRS since 2014, and when one defector (TDP MLA Talasani Yadav) was even elevated to the position of a cabinet minister?" he asked.

When the Congress gave notices of disqualification to Damodar Reddy and M S Prabhakar, who had defected to the TRS, for anti-party activities almost years ago, the CM and the Legislative Council Chairman remained silent and no action had been taken till date, Shabbir Ali added. He demanded that KCR tender an apology to the people of Telangana for such inaction.

Speaking about the BC reservations, Shabbir Ali said that the Congress government had earlier implemented 61% reservation for the 2013 Gram Panchayat elections, including a 34% quota for the BCs. He said that by issuing an ordinance hurriedly, the TRS government had reduced the quota for the BCs to 23.81%, which was a loss of more than 1,000 sarpanch positions for the BCs.