Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao today hit out at the ruling party's rivals in the state for their "anti-TRS" rhetoric, and alleged that the Opposition leaders were "lying" about the state government just to secure electoral gains in the upcoming MLC elections in the graduate constituencies of Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda and Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar.
Addressing a workers' meeting in Kukatpally, along with minister Ch Malla Reddy and other party leaders, Rao claimed that neither the BJP nor the Congress had worked for the people of the state in the way that the TRS had.
"How can the parties of the Opposition, who have not even worked for the people's welfare, turn around and point fingers at our government for having neglected our people? Hasn't the BJP-led Centre failed to provide 2 crore jobs annually to the people of India? In fact, instead of generating employment, it has caused many to lose their jobs by privatising several PSUs. Further, the BJP regime has also burdened people by failing to address the problem of the steep rise in fuel prices. People all over the country have lost faith in the party for its anti-farmer policies as well," he alleged.
"The Centre has not stood by the people of Telangana either. It has consistently denied the state funds for development, or has released inadequate funds. The Congress leaders in the state, too, have not done anything for the people as they have been too busy levelling false charges against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and our party. The TRS government, on the other hand, has been devoted to the welfare of the people ever since it came to power. The CM has successfully addressed the problems of water and electricity shortage in the state's rural areas. And our government is known across the country as one that provides comprehensive welfare to its people. We have brought in scores of programs that have benefitted the farmers, the women, the elderly and many other sections of Telangana. It is only natural for the voters in the state then to support us over the BJP or the Congress, which have only deceived them," the minister added.
He then appealed to the voters of the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar graduates' constituency to support the TRS' candidate, Surabhi Vani Devi, in the upcoming elections.
In his bid to woo the voters in her favour, the TRS leader highlighted Vani Devi's experience as an educationist, and claimed that this made her the most well-equipped candidate to handle the problems of the graduates of the three districts. He added that voting for her would ensure development in the constituency.
The TRS has been seen campaigning relentlessly for the upcoming MLC elections, but it has been
campaigning especially hard for the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar constituency seat. Winning the seat has become a matter of prestige for the ruling party as it had repeatedly failed to clinch the seat in the 2007, 2009 and 2015 elections.