Indira Gandhi hasn’t brought industrialisation to Medak

Hyderabad: Former Dubbaka MLA and BJP Medak Lok Sabha candidate M Raghunandan Rao condemned Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy peddling lies, claiming several institutes of eminence in Medak were brought by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Addressing the media here on Saturday, he said that it is unbecoming of a chief minister to speak a bunch of lies during his visit to Medak on Saturday. He said CM Revnath Reddy claimed during his Medak visit that the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), and Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) were brought to Medak by former PM Indira Gandhi. He said that ICRISAT was established in 1972, BHEL in 1964 by former PM Lal Bahadur Sastri and BDL was established in 1970. However, former PM Indira Gandhi was elected from the Medak Lok Sabha constituency in 1980, he added. Similarly, IDPL falls under the Kukatpally Assembly segment but not under Medak, he pointed out.

Besides, the BJP leader said that Indira Gandhi had promised to bring a railway line to Medak after winning the election. But, after 40 years of her unfulfilled assurance, it was under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that fulfilled the dream of Indira Gandhi.

The Centre started the work on the railway line in 2016 and completed the work by 2023. “The Medak railway station was inagurated by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, G Kishan Reddy and himself in 2023,” adding, “Gajwel and Siddipet are the two other railway stations built during the same time.”

Further, the then Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in UPA-1 under Congress had allocated Rs 330 crore in the union budget for the railway line. But, not a bucket of soil was lifted for the same, he clarified.

Further, the BJP leader said that the National Highway number 765D, running from nearer to the Sivaji Chow, where CM Revanth Reddy addressed people on Saturday was constructed by the Centre, Similarly, NH-765DG from Medak-Siddipet-Elkathruthy was taken by the Centre with Rs 1,600 crore. Besides, works on a six-lane road were taken up from BHEL Chowrasta to Sanga Reddy Chowrasta by the Centre. The BJP leader said that he had published a 40-page booklet giving details of what he had done to Dubbaka, and the development of Kudavelli temple was taken up under the Prasad Darshan Scheme of the Centre.

He termed the Chief Minister’s claim that Medak has got institutes of eminence and industrialisation started with Indira Gandhi, provided jobs is false.

The BJP leader recalled the Allahabad High Court Judgement (Rajnarayan vs. Indira Gandhi) nullifying the election of Indira Gandhi for availing services of the government servants during the election. Then, why former CM KCR was not arrested when there was a complaint filed and evidence emerged that police were used to distribute money in police vehicles during elections, he asked the chief minister.

Further, when CM Revanth Reddy earlier lost in Kamareddy and got elected in Kodangal and lost in Kodngal but was elected from Malkajgiri LS seat. Then, why the same would not apply to him, Raghunandan asked. The BJP leader also took strong exception to CM identifying him with the ‘Dora’ community and asked to come to Dubbaka whether he was rich or from a humble background.