Why Rahul moving under SPG cover, asks Sushma

Hyderabad: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday questioned Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as to why he is moving around with the SPG security cover if terrorism was not an issue.

Addressing a meeting organised by the linguistic minorities at Haryana Bhavan in Secunderabad here on Friday, she said, "Son of a family (Rahul Gandhi), in which two persons had been killed by the terrorists is saying that it is not an issue.

"If it is not an issue, then, why are you moving under the SPG security cover."

Appealing people to think before casting their vote about what the BJP-led government at the Centre had done for the development and security of the nation. Earlier, the frequent incidents of bomb blasts had pushed the entire country into turmoil.

However, after the Pulwama terrorist attack, the Centre had given a befitting response to Pakistan. Further, the credit of isolating Pakistan in the world goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides, 17 countries standing by the side of India finding fault with Pakistan sponsored terrorist activities in the country, she said.

The external affairs minister said that India wanted peaceful coexistence with all countries. However, she found fault with Rahul Gandhi for not bothering to condemn such incidents. She also criticised Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for toeing the line of what Pakistan claims on surgical strikes.

Listing out different development activities initiated by the BJP government at the Centre, she charged KCR for depriving the poor in the state benefits of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme (ABS).

"KCR is asking what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done during his tenure. Ayushman Bharat is one of its kind of the largest health schemes in the world guaranteeing an annual medical coverage of Rs 5 lakh. The scheme covers 10 crore households benefitting 50 crore people.

However, the TS chief minister has not come on board to implement the scheme and thus deprived the poorest of the poor in Telangana the benefits of the ABS," she said. Stating that the Centre has initiated schemes for the benefit of every section of society in the country, the Union Minister said that the demand for relaxation of income tax up to Rs 5 lakh has been hanging in the balance for decades.

However, it was only Modi's government which had it possible to provide the much-needed relief to the middle class in the country, she said. Thanking people for electing the BJP candidate from the Secunderabad Parliament constituency for four times, she asked them to vote for the party nominee G Kishan Reddy, to bring back Modi as the PM.

State BJP president Dr K Laxman, party candidate G Kishan Reddy, former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya reminded the proactive role played by Sushma Swaraj in Parliament during the introduction and passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act for the creation of the separate State of Telangana.