TRS working president and state IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao today exhorted his party's leadership and cadres to teach the Opposition a lesson, claiming that it had been levelling "false charges" against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and the TRS government.
Speaking at a party meeting in Rajanna Siricilla after flagging off the TRS' membership drive, Rao said, "Teach the Opposition a befitting lesson by getting the support of Telangana's people through a comprehensive state-wide enrolment drive and by addressing the locals' issues."
KTR asked the TRS' leaders and activists to take pride in their party, and instructed them to make the enrolment drive a success by making household visits, and informing the people in Telangana's rural pockets about the government's welfare schemes to gain their support.
Lashing out at the leaders of the Telangana wings of the BJP and the Congress, he accused them of creating confusion and panic among the people of the state with their "divisive" and "communal" politics, and expressed his hope that the people would teach the two parties a lesson for belittling the state government repeatedly.
"The Opposition often makes cheap remarks against our CM, who is a well-loved and widely respected leader - former Finance Minister of our country Arun Jaitley had also publicly appreciated the CM for being a good administrator. I would urge the Opposition, therefore, to refrain from making baseless comments against our CM, and our government. This will not be tolerated. Our people too will not stand for such behaviour," the minister said.
Citing some of Telangana's most talked about government programs, including the Kalyan Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes, the Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bhima and Rythu Vedika schemes, the KCR Kits, and the Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya programs, he added, "Does the Opposition truly have any real grounds on which to criticise us? Are the states ruled by the BJP and the Congress implementing any welfare measures that are comparable to the scores being implemented by our government? Where the Congress had failed to provide a stable supply of electricity for even six hours a day in undivided Andhra Pradesh, we have successfully been able to offer our people free electricity, 24 hours a day. Union ministers and leaders have also appreciated our programs. The Opposition's attempts to gain political mileage by criticising us, therefore, will not get them far. Both the Congress and the BJP are pretending that they cannot see nor understand the development and the welfare that our government has brought to the state. However, their cheap tricks and vote bank politics, I would like to reiterate, will not work, as the people of the state are well-aware of our commitment to their welfare."
While the Opposition and the ruling party are often locking horns, this recent tirade seems especially vehement. Perhaps it is the result of
the backlash the TRS has received from the Opposition, after the GHMC Mayor elections held yesterday.