Kabhi tho sach bolo

New Delhi: "It is necessary for the people to speak truth occasionally, if not always," was the advice Union Home Minister Amit Shah gives to the Government of Telangana.

Speaking at the Telangana Formation Day celebrations organised by the Union Ministry of Culture at Dr Ambedkar International Centre here on Thursday, Shah said the Centre had never discriminated against any state. The BJP government believes that the country progresses only when states develop. "Unfortunately, a lot of false propaganda against the Centre was being made alleging that injustice was meted to the new state," he said.

Shah said during his visit to Telangana recently had presented details of the devolution of funds from the Centre to the state with full details. "For the benefit of the people of the state," he said, he would like to reiterate that during the last eight years, the Centre had given Rs 2,52,202 crore for the development of the state." This included funds for Jal Jeevan Mission, tribal area development, etc, he added.

He said the state would have got much more almost to the extent of Rs 4 lakh crore if it had responded to the queries of the Centre. It had never bothered to give replies to the letters written by various departments, the Union minster said.

Shah criticized the UPA government for bifurcating the state in a hurry for electoral gains which they could not get. It could have been done in a better manner and many inter-state problems could have been avoided, he said.

He said it was unfortunate that the TRS government refuses to observe the Telangana Liberation Day officially. "We should be grateful to Sardar Patel who liberated Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra from the Nizam rule. "Soon, there will be a change in government the state and the BJP will celebrate the Liberation Day officially," he said.

Popular singers from Telangana such as Mangli and Vedala Hemachandra performed at the programme.