KCR's claims on Telangana growth were a bundle of lies: Sravan

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Spokesperson Dr. Sravan Dasoju has described the claims made by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on the growth of Telangana as a bundle of lies.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Sravan said that the Chief Minister, while addressing an event organised by a leading media house at a posh hotel in the city on Thursday, has told the half-truth and resorted to plagiarism on several issues. He said that event was used to cover up failures, corruption and inefficiencies of TRS Government during the last three-and-a-half years.

Sravan ridiculed KCR's claim on Telangana being the richest State in the country. He said Telangana inherited debts of nearly Rs. 60,000 crore at the time of its formation. However, he said the present government borrowed loans of Rs. 90,000 crore in the last three years. Further, he said that the Chief Minister is trying to borrow another Rs. 25,000 crore from China and Rs. 30,000 crore from Gulf countries in the name of some projects. "How can a State which has debts higher than one full annual budget be called the richest?" he asked adding that the 'management politics' could not be dragged on for long.

Responding to KCR's comments on "Telugu Pride", Sravan said when there was nothing called "Telugu Pride" or "Telugu Identity" then the State Government had spent over Rs. 200 crore in organising World Telugu Conference recently. He said huge public funds were wasted to highlight KCR as a 'Telugu bidda'.

Sravan pointed out that it was KCR who had targeted important personalities like Nagarjuna, Mohan Babu, Raghavendra Rao, L. Rajagopal and others while blaming Andhra leaders for the backwardness of Telangana. He said KCR had given big contracts to companies like Navayuga or Mega Constructions whom he had accused of looting Telangana's wealth and resources in the past. However, he said poor Andhra people, who used to work as vendors or do menial jobs, were forced to leave Telangana while those capitalists who opposed Telangana are still ruling the roost. He said that the TRS won GHMC elections not due to the public support but only after purchasing MLAs and MPs of other political parties.

The Congress leader strongly criticised KCR for demanding second capital status for Hyderabad. He said the proposal would cause huge damage to Telangana State as it would lead to the transformation of Hyderabad into a Union Territory like Delhi. He said KCR had opposed UT status for Hyderabad during statehood movement and today he himself is mooting the idea of second capital.

Sravan said that the economic growth, especially in rural areas, was badly hit after TRS came to power. While the growth rate in rural areas was nearly 21% in 2013-14, it came down to 18.5% now. He said except for a few districts, the GDP has dropped in rest of Telangana.

The Congress leader also disputed KCR's claims on the energy situation. He said that the Chief Minister has lied on national television by claiming that he had resolved the energy crisis within six months after coming to power. He said that the power supply position has improved due to the projects launched during the previous Congress regimes. He said that the TRS Government did not complete a single project and not a single unit of power has been generated out of them. He said KCR has lied that the power generating capacity has increased from 6,000 MW to 14,000 MW. Further, he said when TRS Govt has launched projects for only 2,000 MW, how could the capacity be increased to 20,000 MW in 2020.

Sravan said people used to get nine essential commodities for just Rs. 185 when the then Congress Government used to pay month pensions of Rs. 200. Although, the pensioners are now getting Rs. 1,000 per month, excluding rice, they are being forced to spend over Rs. 2,000 to buy eight other commodities. Therefore, the amount given by the previous Congress regime provided poor people a decent living and guaranteed food for a month.

The Congress leaders also slammed KCR for not answering the question on farmers' suicides. Similarly, he said that the people were misled on the issue of industrialisation and investments in Telangana. He said that the TRS Government has failed to fill promised one lakh vacancies while over 18 lakh jobless youth, who registered themselves with the Public Service Commission, are waiting to get recruited.

Sravan dared the Chief Minister to implement Lok Pal Bill in Telangana by bringing himself into its purview on the lines of Congress Government in Karnataka.