KTR slams the BJP government for adopting 'Sale of India' approach through disinvestment

TRS working president and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao on Tuesday slammed the BJP government for abandoning its ‘Made in India’ initiative and instead, adopting a ‘Sale of India’ approach through disinvestment in profit-making public sector undertakings (PSUs).

“The BJP leadership’s incompetent and bankrupt policies have ruined the economy and deprived lakhs of people of their livelihood. It is now working with a new slogan ‘Becho India’ to help its friends from Gujarat. Our appeal to the people is ‘Socho India’,” he said.

Speaking to media at Telangana Bhavan here, Rama Rao blamed the Centre’s policies for the economic slowdown in the country. He pointed out that the GDP growth rate fell for eight consecutive quarters prior to the Covid-19 pandemic mainly due to the Centre’s failures on various counts, including demonetisation which snatched away the livelihood of lakhs of people across the country. The GDP of neighbouring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, he pointed out, was far better than India. 

“The Centre is hiding its failures behind the pandemic and bundle of lies. Their failure in governance is just an Act of God for them,” he said, and accused the Centre of imposing the lockdown without prior planning.

The Minister said the Centre was on a selling spree and was disinvesting in Air India, Life Insurance Corporation of India and also privatising Indian Railways which was the fourth largest in the world. “If they are given an opportunity, they will even sell Charminar, Golconda fort or even privatise GHMC,” he added. He said the only achievements of the BJP were spreading lies and dividing people on religious lines.

The TRS working president took strong exception to the chargesheet released by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar terming the Telangana government as a TRS-MIM government. “In reality, we were never in alliance with MIM. This shows their ill intentions and their hatred for the Muslim community,” Rama Rao, who released a list of 50 questions to the BJP, said.

On BJP leaders describing the TRS government as having separatist tendencies, Rama Rao said whenever the State demands its rightful share in taxes, the BJP leaders term the party as separatists. “But when it



comes to political opportunities, the BJP leaders are the real separatists who formed a government in Jammu and Kashmir with the PDP,” he said.

The Minister said the BJP will see thousands of chargesheets against it from various sections of people for cheating them with false promises. Listing out various promises made by the BJP over the last six years, he sought an apology from Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. “The chargesheet resembles Goebbels’ diary and the BJP leaders are like Goebbels’ cousins,” he said.

The Minister reiterated that the main rival of the ruling TRS in the GHMC elections was MIM and not BJP. He exuded confidence that the TRS will emerge as the single largest party with the highest number of seats followed by MIM. “The BJP and Congress can fight for the remaining positions,” he said, and asserted that a woman corporator from TRS will assume the Mayor’s chair in GHMC.

Rama Rao released a list of 50 questions to the BJP seeking answers for its failures to implement the promises and address people’s issues. He tore into the BJP-led Union government for the injustice meted out to the State in the last six years. He pointed out that the BJP as a party and also as government at the Centre, had failed to fulfill its promises including those made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. He demanded that the BJP leaders spell out whether the Central government released any addition funds to the State other than tax devolutions mandated by the Constitution.

The Minister asked whether the TRS was being targetted for constructing the Kaleshwaram project, bringing top technology companies to Hyderabad and helping farmers with Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima schemes. Listing out the development activities of the TRS government in the last six years, Rama Rao asked Javadekar whether the charge-sheet was released against TRS for constructing Kaleshwaram project and giving Rs 2,016 social security pensions monthly.

Rama Rao said the ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) project sanctioned for Hyderabad was cancelled by the BJP, denying employment opportunities to lakhs of youngsters. “Not a single rupee was given to Hyderabad’s development in the last six years,” he said.