Three months after leaving the BJP, former minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Mothkupalli Narasimhulu, on Monday joined the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). TRS President and Chief Minister (CM) K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) welcomed him into the party at a programme held at the party headquarters Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad. Narasimhulu, a Dalit leader, is likely to be appointed as chairman of the Dalita Bandhu Corporation to oversee implementation of the scheme.
It was in 2019 that he had joined BJP after being expelled from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for making allegations against the party leadership. He, however, quit BJP in July this year, alleging that they were not giving him due recognition. Narasimhulu, who was with the TDP since its inception in March 1982, has served as a minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Welcoming him into TRS, KCR recalled that they worked together for many years. He claimed that his friendship with the former minister is beyond politics. KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, pointed out that Narasimhulu is known as a leader who serves the weaker sections of the society.
However, it has to be remembered that Mothkupalli was a staunch critic of KCR during and after the statehood movement. Mothkupalli used to come down heavily on KCR alleging that he was using statehood sentiment for his personal and political gains.
KCR pointed out that those opposing statehood to Telangana tried to create fear among people that in a separate Telangana, Maoists will roam around with AK-47 rifles and the state will not receive investments. He claimed that when he launched the Telangana movement, some people threatened to kill him but he was not afraid.
KCR said he convinced national parties to support statehood to Telangana and finally achieved the goal. He said he met BSP leader Mayawati alone 19 times to seek her support. Stating that there is a vast difference between Telangana of that time and today, he claimed that people living in urban areas were looking towards villages for migration as the rural areas have transformed under self-rule. KCR said schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima revived agriculture.
He reiterated that the government will definitely launch Dalita Bandhu like schemes for all castes, especially economically weaker sections, asking why rulers in the past never thought of launching a scheme like Dalita Bandhu.
He said BJP MLAs in Karnataka are demanding that schemes being implemented in Telangana should be launched in their state, or else Raichur district be merged with Telangana. The TRS chief said there was no doubt that TRS will win another term in power. He said Rs 23 lakh crore will be spent in Telangana in the next seven years towards social upliftment. On Dalita Bandhu alone, Rs.1.70 lakh crore will be spent, he assured.
(With IANS inputs)