KTR directs the TRS MPs to raise issues pertaining to the State in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

TRS working president K T Rama Rao on Friday directed the party MPs to raise issues pertaining to the State in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the winter session of Parliament starting November 18.

Rama Rao, who chaired the TRS Parliamentary Party meeting at Telangana Bhavan for the first time after being appointed as working president, discussed the strategy to be adopted by the party during the winter session. Earlier, he was formally welcomed by TRS Parliamentary Party leader K Keshava Rao when he arrived at the party headquarters.

Briefing the party MPs on the issues to be raised in Parliament, Rama Rao directed them to raise their voice in the respective Houses about the implementation of pending assurances under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

The working president said the party will take a stand based on issues, but ultimately, its stand will be aimed at all-round development of Telangana State.

The State government, he said, has given representations to the Centre on Defence land for development of road infrastructure in Hyderabad, NIMZ status for Pharma City and various other works. He asked the MPs to follow up on these issues.

The working president said the TRS Bhavan in New Delhi will come up soon with advanced technology in place where MPs can access complete information related to government schemes, policies, and programmes.

Rama Rao instructed the MPs to raise various other issues that had been pending for the past five years as also question the Centre, in an effective manner, on its failure to implement assurances made to the State under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Emerging from the two-hour meeting, the party’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha Nama Nageshwar Rao said the working president discussed 30 issues pertaining to the State at the meeting, including setting up of a Tribal University, National Institute of Design, the long-pending Bayyaram Steel Plant, transfer of Defence lands, rightful dues to the State under devolution of funds from the IGST, among others.

“Whatever the State should get rightfully from



the Centre will be highlighted during the Parliament session. We will fight for justice for Telangana State in both Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

It may be recalled that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi early in October and submitted a 22-point wishlist of the TRS government, many of them long-pending promises, some of which are covered under the AP Reorganisation Act.

Chandrashekhar Rao had urged the Prime Minister to release the fifth instalment of assistance of Rs 450 crore to backward districts as per the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, besides financial assistance of Rs 5,000 crore for TRS government’s flagship programmes Mission Kakatiya and Rs 19,205 crore for Mission Bhagiratha, as recommended by NITI Aayog.

He also asked the Prime Minister to enhance reservations for BCS (37 per cent), SCs (25 per cent) and STs (10 per cent) and also sub-categorisation of SCs in the State since the State Assembly had passed resolutions to this effect.

Subsequently, Rama Ram too had, during his recent visit to New Delhi, met with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to expedite the transfer of 105.77 acre of Defence land to the Telangana government so that works under the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) on National Highway 44 and Hyderabad-Ramagundam Rajiv Rahadari can be taken up.

On the issue of devolution of funds to the State, Finance Minister T Harish Rao also wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently, and pointed out how injustice was meted out to Telangana State. Harish Rao, in his sharply-worded letter, pointed out that against its total share of Rs 4,464 crore, Telangana only received Rs 1,652 crore and was entitled to the balance amount of Rs 2,812 crore.

The MPs were also asked to bring pressure on the Centre for release of one-time grant-in-aid of Rs 1,000 crore for the Warangal Textile Park, establishment of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Telangana and enhancement of number of judges in Telangana High Court from 24 to 42.