Will Quit If Opposition Proves Charges: KCR

Severely censuring the opposition parties for staging a walk-out even before the completion of the Governor's speech, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao threw a challenge to the former that he would resign and leave the office within five minutes if they proved that his government was guilty of corruption.

Addressing the house on the motion to extend thanks for the Governor's speech on Saturday, the Chief Minister also asserted that the House would run as per the rules and regulations, and would not succumb to the pressure tactics of the opposition parties.

KCR asked the TDP members whether shouting was needed when the Governor was delivering his speech. He opined that much of the world had adopted Parliamentary democracy, and that there was a need for Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, MPs and MLAs to see that they enhanced the prestige of the process among the people, and not lower it.

He said that the government was ready to run the house for the number of days that the Opposition parties wanted, but would not keep quiet if the members tried to disturb it. The Constitution permitted the house to suspend members who obstructed the proceedings as as done earlier that day, he said.

"The people will punish us if we did wrong by suspending the members from House. The people's court is ultimate. We will not compromise in running the House as per rules," he said.

Referring to BJLP leader G Kishan Reddy's comment that the TRS MLAs too had disrupted the house in the united Andhra Pradesh Assembly, KCR said the situation then was different.

"Shouting during the Governor's speech is not heroism. This sort of abhorrent behaviour must change," he said.

It was not proper for the Opposition members to ridicule the Governor's speech, he stated. The Governor's speech was mostly conceptual, and the Finance Minister would deliver a more detailed speech.

Finding fault with the opposition leaders for inciting the unemployed youth to agitate, KCR asked the opposition parties what they expected from that.

"Power is not permanent to any political party. The system matters and not individuals," he said emotionally.

Exhorting the youth not to destroy their future with needless agitations, the Chief Minister reiterated that his government would provide one lakh jobs to the youth.

KCR also said that political corruption was lesser in Telangana compared to other states in the country. Alleging that it was the Congress party that had a history of corruption, he claimed that the Congress leaders had taken lakhs of rupees from Anganwadis to give jobs. "But I signed a file yesterday or the day before clearing the recruitment of 4,000 Anganwadis, and assigned the job of completing the process to the District Collectors," he said.

It was also unfair for the opposition parties to dub Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha as "Commission Kakatiya and Commission Bhagiratha", he said, and threatened that action would be initiated if the opposition parties failed to prove their allegations.

"Prove or perish. Punishment is a must if the opposition parties fail to prove their charges," he said.

"We achieved Telangana facing severe hardships and we will not do injustice to the state. Redesigning of projects was not for my sake but for the sake of the people," he said.

KCR said that Telangana was growing fast, and that the Prime Minister himself was surprised at the 21% growth rate of the state. He said that even Gujarat had never crossed a 11% growth rate.