People will never forget injustice to Telangana under Naidu’s regime: Harish Rao

Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday slammed Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for the injustice meted out to Telangana during the latter’s nine-year regime in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. He termed Naidu’s public meeting in Khammam on Wednesday a desperate attempt to woo the BJP for an electoral alliance in Andhra Pradesh.

The Minister reminded that the people of Andhra Pradesh had rejected and shunted out Naidu due to his failed policies. He was now trying to cheat the people of Telangana promising to develop the State. “The people of Telangana will never forget the injustice done to Telangana under the Naidu government in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh,” he said. He termed the TDP chief a coin that was out of circulation and with no value in Telangana.

On Thursday, Harish Rao along with Ministers Puvvada Ajay Kumar, V Srinivas Goud and Koppula Eeshwar responded to Naidu’s claims about development of Hyderabad and Khammam under his regime and ridiculed Naidu for taking credit even for ending the flourosis problem in Nalgonda and also for the Covid vaccine. “If given a chance, Naidu will take credit even for the sun rising in the east,” they said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister said Naidu deceived scores of unemployed youth in



Telangana by making Hyderabad a free zone. He said youth from Telangana who questioned the injustice and demanded jobs were killed after being branded Naxalites.

“Chandrababu Naidu cheated all communities in Telangana and did the same in the truncated State of Andhra Pradesh. It was during his rule that the highest number of farmers’ suicides occurred in the Telangana region. He was also responsible for killing farmers during protests against the power tariff hike at Basheerbagh,” he lashed out.

Harish Rao stated that during Naidu’s rule, minor irrigation system was neglected with Naidu even saying on record that agriculture was ‘waste’. He said Naidu’s effort to confuse and woo a section of people in Telangana was aimed at striking an an electoral alliance with BJP in Andhra Pradesh.

Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar said Naidu had done grave injustice to Telangana especially Khammam district by taking away seven mandals along with the 460 megawatt Lower Sileru hydro-electric project to Andhra Pradesh within a month after the State formation. He said Naidu did not bother to take consent from Telangana and even stopped sharing power generated in Andhra Pradesh against the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act.