Maharashtra BJP Slandering Telangana Government: CM

In a press conference held today in Mumbai, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy accused Maharashtra's BJP leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misleading the people of Maharashtra regarding the implementation of the Telangana government's schemes.

Reddy was in Maharastra to campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in the State, and in the wake of the Congress unit of that State there announcing five "guarantees" on the lines of the six guarantees it had made in the run-up to the Telangana Assembly elections last year that swept it into power here.

"The Congress promised waivers of farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh in Telangana, and in line with this commitment, the State government waived off farm loans worth Rs 17,869 crore, relieving 22,22,067 farmers of their debt burdens in just 25 days. My government is ready to provide the details of the farm loan waiver scheme to anyone who asks," Reddy said.

"The BJP led by Prime Minister Modi himself is however relentlessly lying that the promises were not kept. I have come to Maharashtra to set the record straight about the implementation of the six guarantees in Telangana, and I will continue speaking the truth until the Prime Minister stops spreading lies," he said.

He added that the Telangana government had responded strongly to Modi's criticism of its handling of farmers' issues, which had led to Modi deleting his tweet.

Reddy also criticized the Maharashtra government's handling of the agriculture sector, alleging that the highest number of farmer suicides occurred in the State, and said that despite that both the State and the Union governments were neglecting the welfare of the farmers.

"Maharashtra has always held a special place in the history of the country. This land gave birth to many great leaders, such as Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Savitribai Phule and Dr B R Ambedkar, who inspired the nation and shaped its future. Such a revered State should not fall into the wrong hands. Narendra Modi has shifted 17 mega projects intended for Maharashtra to Gujarat," he said.

The Chief Minister called on the people of Maharashtra to reject the BJP which had deceived the State, and urged them to support the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections.