MAUD Portfolio Great, Naidu Did Develop City: KTR

Admitting that TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu did develop Hyderabad during his regime, Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao today however pilloried him for other "false" claims.

Addressing a "Spirit Of Hyderabad" program at Park Hyatt Hotel, the minister said that while Naidu developed the city strategically and got some IT and other companies and investments by marketing the city the world over, he could not claim that the city had developed only during the TDP rule.

Hyderabad had 400 years of history, and had been developing and expanding since then, and no one person could take credit for developing the entire city, KTR said.

Naidu's campaigning was of no use, he opined - the Telugu Desam Party would vanish from Telangana as it was already on verge of collapse, he claimed, and exuded confidence that the TRS would win the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections by a landslide as the people were with them for its "welfare schemes and monumental development". He reiterated that he would resign from the minister post if the results were otherwise.

Also excoriating the TDP leadership in general for their comments against KCR in response to the latter claiming that Nara Bhuvaneshwari had told him that she would vote for the TRS, KTR said that the former were just afraid of losing.

He also asked Lokesh Naidu to come clear if he was local in Hyderabad, and if so then what about his status in Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu should focus on Amaravathi's development and the TRS would do so for Hyderabad, he said.

He also found fault with the BJP Telangana chief Kishen Reddy's comments that the TRS was lying and had failed to keep its promises. He sought to know what the BJP had done for Hyderabad.

"It is also not correct for Bandaru Dattatreya to mislead people on the double bedroom housing scheme. The people's verdict will be out on February 5 when the ballot boxes will be opened. Dattatreya's and Venkaiah Naidu's comments against the TRS will be proved wrong in the results," he said.

"It is now time to support Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to implement his vision of making the city the best investment and global destination. We will ensure that every possible plan is put in place to deliver goods to the people and the poor. In the city, we have to address many problems like drainage, storm water draining, drinking water shortage, road conditions, traffic and others. Two more reservoirs will come up quickly to quench the thirst of Hyderabadis," he added.

There were many problems left behind by successive governments, and the TRS government was focusing on undoing them, KTR said. He claimed that the TRS government would not hesitate to pull up even Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he failed to extend support for the development of Hyderabad and Telangana.

Extending thanks to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, also his father, KTR said that he would accept Municipal Administration and Urban Development portfolio as a challenge, and along with his cabinet colleagues would try to develop the city as a global destination.

The city was noted for various cultures, and people of all States and many countries were living here with mutual respect, and that was the spirit of Hyderabad, he added. Those ruling needed to exploit the synergies possible from the strengths of the people, he said.