KT Rama Rao, minister and working president of the ruling TRS, responded to Union Home Minister and BJP veteran Amit Shah’s assault on the TRS administration in Telangana on Sunday by dubbing him the “Badshah of falsehoods” for disseminating false information about the TRS government.
Mr. Rama Rao, the son of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, said that corporates guided the NDA administration at the federal level.
Amit Shah attacked the TRS government in Telangana for alleged corruption and accused it of failing to fulfill the central planks of the separate Telangana agitation of “water, funds, and jobs,” and said his party is ready to face the polls due in the State next year, speaking at a public meeting that marked the culmination of Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s second phase of ‘padayatra’ (foot march).
READ MORE: Today is the inauguration of Manik Saha’s new Cabinet
Mr. Rama Rao retorted to Mr. Shah’s charge that the Telangana government led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is the most corrupt in the country, citing instances of “rampant corruption” in BJP-ruled Karnataka, citing allegations made by a Karnataka BJP MLA that he was approached by some people offering the State chief minister’s position in exchange for 2,500 crores.
Similarly, the Telangana Minister alluded to claimed statements made by a Lingayat seer in Karnataka that mutts (monasteries) pay a 30% fee to get their sanctioned funding released. Mr. Rama Rao also mentioned the alleged suicide of a contractor in Karnataka, who had made complaints against a then-BJP Minister over a demand for a 40% reduction in a public project undertaken.
According to Mr. Rama Rao, Amit Shah should change his name to “Badshah of Lies” (emperor of lies).
Mr Shah alleges that the ‘Mission Bhagiratha’ project received 25,000 crores. His name must be changed immediately. Mr. Rama Rao described him as “Badshah of Lies,” not Amit Shah.
“Shouldn’t he be known as the “Badshah of Lies”? The NITI Aayog proposed a grant of Rs 19,000 crore for the project, citing its merits. Have you received 19 paise from your government? Do you have any remorse for telling outright lies? People are skeptical of your claims… Such “absurd” language would not be permitted, “Mr. Rama Rao said.
Rama Rao claimed that the TRS had asked Amit Shah to speak about the Centre’s contribution to Telangana’s development, but that Shah instead spoke about Nizam and Razakars without saying valuable anything for Telangana and demanded to know what the BJP-led NDA government did to Telangana in the last eight years.
He claimed that Telangana paid the Centre 3.65 lakh crore in taxes but only received 1.68 lakh crore in return.
In response to Mr. Shah’s remarks on loans taken by the Telangana government, Mr. Rama Rao accused the BJP of leading India into a debt trap, claiming that the NDA government had borrowed 100 lakh crore in the previous eight years.
Rama Rao responded to Mr. Shah’s assertion that the BJP is prepared to hold elections if the TRS administration dissolves the Assembly. The TRS is likewise prepared to hold elections if the BJP dissolves Parliament.
Mr. Rama Rao said that the people are ready to reject Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the “double-engine” administration, even as he remembered Chief Minister KCR’s (as Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is often known) declaration that the elections in Telangana will be conducted on schedule (in 2023).
Mr. Rama Rao said that quotas for Muslims already exist in Kerala, BJP-ruled Karnataka, and Bihar, in response to Mr. Shah’s remarks on scrapping minority reservations in Telangana. Why not Telangana, he wondered, if it could be supplied in those states.
Mr. Rama Rao responded to Mr. Shah’s claim that AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi is driving the TRS election symbol of a vehicle “Our steering is in our hands, while your government (NDA) is in the hands of corporations. Everyone knows who’s driving…two Gujaratis selling, two purchasing. Everyone understands why you place restrictions on coal imports and why you sell airports “.
“However, you may play games with Central Agencies and hunt others. Using central agencies to target opponents. But, as Amit Shah Ji pointed out, it won’t last long since this is a democracy. You can’t live on deception for very long, “Mr. Rama Rao said.
Several Telangana ministers, including Finance Minister T Harish Rao, criticized Amit Shah for spreading “blatant falsehoods” against the TRS administration and referred to him as the “Shah of lies.”
They said that Mr. Shah set a record for becoming the Home Minister who spoke the most falsehoods.
