After much delay, the Bharatiya Janata Party unveiled its election manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly polls on Friday. However, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and Minister of IT KT Rama Rao claimed credit for many of the initiatives and schemes listed in the manifesto, saying that they had already been implemented in Telangana earlier.
The minister wrote on Twitter, “Imitation is the best form of flattery: Delighted that various welfare and development schemes of @TelanganaCMO have been picked up by BJP in Karnataka polls.”
He further listed out the schemes already existing in Telangana which were introduced by the ruling party like Mission Kakatiya, Kalyana Lakshmi, farm loan waiver, TS-IPASS single window clearance, K-Hub and Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Canteens.
Imitation is the best form of flattery: Delighted that various welfare & development schemes of @TelanganaCMO have been picked up by BJP in Karnataka polls
— KTR (@KTRTRS) May 4, 2018
1) Mission Kakatiya as ‘Mission Kalyani’
2) Kalyana Lakshmi as ‘Vivaha Mangala Yojana’
3) Farm Loan waiver of 1 lakh
1/2 pic.twitter.com/ZavKmUDbQO
4) TS-IPASS inspired single window clearance for industries
— KTR (@KTRTRS) May 4, 2018
5) ‘K-Hub’ inspired by T-Hub
6) ‘Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Canteens’ inspired by @GHMCOnline Annapurna initiative
2/2 pic.twitter.com/wxhFqERiIF
Though the minister took credit for a few initiatives the BJP listed in its manifesto, some pointed out that many initiatives by the Telangana government were inspired by other state governments.
https://t.co/6Z2GPKzfxQ mission Bhagiratha not inspired from Gujarat water grid ? It's officially there on govt website..
— Bharath Kumar (@Bharath_Kumar_M) May 4, 2018
2. Is 5Rs canteen not copied from amma canteen in TN?
3. Is KCR kit not a copied idea from jayalalitha's kit in TN?
Nothing wrong in having same schemes sir
Loan weiver can't be considered as your govt.'s
— Ankita (@Ankita5960) May 4, 2018
This jibe at the BJP by the TRS is being viewed as the party openly declaring a battle against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to be held in 2019. It must be recalled that the TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao had met the Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda and his son and chief ministerial candidate HD Kumaraswamy Gowda at his residence in Bengaluru and declared his support for the JD(S) in the Karnataka elections.