Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning for the second straight day in the state on Sunday, continued his blitz on the BRS and the Congress, calling the two parties ‘diseases’ for which only the BJP could provide a cure. He reserved the choicest criticism for BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
He was addressing meetings in Toopran in Gajwel constituency, where BJP leader Etala Rajendar is taking on Chandrashekar Rao, and in Nirmal. He will hold a road show on Monday to wrap up his campaign in Telangana state.
Modi left no one in doubt that the BJP’s primary targets were the BRS and Chandrashekar Rao, while at the same time declaring that a Congress win would be inimical to Telangana.
He said: "Telangana CM agrees that his MLAs take 30 per cent commission. Members of KCR family too are facing corruption probes. After destroying Telangana, he wants to become a national leader. In this enthusiasm, he joined hands with the corrupt Delhi state government and some corrupt BRS leaders became part of that state’s liquor scam in which crores changed hands. The drama of mobiles will not work. The hardcore corrupt BRS leaders in Telangana involved in the scam cannot escape."
At the Toopran meeting, Modi asked if Telangana wanted a "a Chief Minister who does not meet with people, does not go to the Secretariat, and stays in his farmhouse? KCR considers Telangana as his jagir. He is contesting from a second seat. Why did he have to do this? Just as Rahul Gandhi ran away from Amethi to Kerala, KCR has gone to another seat."
He said: "KCR did this because of Etala Rajendar, the strong BJP candidate in Gajwel, and anger against him among farmers who were left in the lurch after their lands and homes were taken away for an irrigation project named after Mallikarjuna Swamy," referring to those who lost their lands for the Mallannasagar project named after Komuravelli Mallikarjuna Swamy.
"Neither Swamy Mallikarjun, nor the farmers here will forgive such a sinner," Modi declared.
He said that Rao had to apologise to the people of Gajwel, his constituency. "Why would he
do this, had he kept his promises? He also did not keep his promises to the people. He broke his promise of a Dalit CM, Dalit Bandhu, giving 2 bedroom houses for the poor, jobs for youth."
Modi said the Chief Minister had "promised skills for youth but in return only gave scams. He promised jobs for your children but worked for his children and relatives. He said people’s incomes will increase but that happened only for himself through scams."
Modi said the Congress had ruled the Telangana region for decades but had done nothing, and called on the people to reject the party which "is a carbon copy of BRS." His speech at Nirmal too focused on the Chief Minister.
"Congress, KCR ek samaan, dono se rahe saavdhaan. BJP hi badhayegi Telangana ka samman (Congress, KCR are the same, beware of both. Only BJP can increase Telangana’s prestige)," he said.
"KCR is an enemy of the people. People of rest of India also listen to this. The CM here sits in his farmhouse while thousands of houses built by the Central government for the poor have not been given to them. The BJP government built four crore houses for the poor in the country and in Telangana, 2.5 lakh houses were built but thousands of these were not handed over to the poor. I assure you, when the BJP government is formed in Telangana, distribution of houses to the poor will be done immediately," he said.
Modi said Sunday is the Constitution Day and it is worth recalling that "KCR wanted to change the Constitution written by Ambedkar and insulted Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The Congress did not give Dr Ambedkar the Bharat Ratna."
He also said it was only in Telangana that the state government was setting up IT parks on the basis of religion. "BRS which is dynastic, corrupt and believes in appeasement is doing this. Should religion be the basis for IT parks," he asked in an apparent reference to the promise of setting one up for Muslims in the Malakpet constituency of Hyderabad.
He also said that the "I.N.D.I.A alliance" will be wiped out in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.