Mounting an attack on the caretaker chief minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao, Congress President Rahul Gandhi accused the former of insulting BR Ambedkar by changing the names of the projects that were named after him. Speaking at an election campaign in Nirmal on Saturday, Rahul also accused KCR of stealing public money by raising the costs of various projects in the state.
“The Chief Minister here in Telangana has insulted Ambedkar, he has renamed the project that was named after him as the Kaleshwaram project and from a budget of Rs 38,000 crore, the project cost rose to Rs 1 lakh crore. The project cost increased as the chief minister and his family wanted to steal public money,” alleged Rahul at his first campaign speech since the Election Commission announced poll dates for Telangana.
The Congress President is in the state for a day-long visit where he will be campaigning for the state unit at Nirmal constituency in Adilabad, Kamareddy district and the Charminar constituency of Hyderabad, from where he will be heading to Jaipur. Telangana polls are scheduled to be held on December 7.
His 20-minute speech at Bhainsa town in Nirmal was addressed to the ST/SC population of the state, which accounts for over 30% of the voting population. The reference of Komaram Bheem, a tribal leader who fought for the liberation of Hyderabad from the Nizam's rule, and Dr BR Ambedkar in his speech garnered a huge applause.
The Congress leader also alleged that the project costs for the Rajiv Sagar and Indira Sagar Lift Irrigation projects Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 12,000 crore. “The Chief Minister is embezzling money; it goes to his family and the farmers and tribals in Telangana are left to suffer,” added Rahul.
Rahul alleged that KCR, at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has diluted the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006) and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 in Telangana. He promised the correct implementation of the acts if the Congress came to power in Telangana.
“We brought the Adivasi Bill to give rights over land water forest and its benefits to the people. The same way, we brought the Land Bill. After the Bill came, farmers’ lands could not be confiscated without their consent and the bill mandated that four times the market rates would be given to them,” said Rahul.
“However, PM Modi tried to kill the Land Bill three times and when he failed after strict opposition from the Congress, he asked his CMs to destroy the Bill in the states. KCR in Telangana has killed the Bill. Neither the farmers nor the tribals get the right market rates for their lands. When we come to power in the state and the Centre, we promise you, the Land Bill will be implemented in full,” he added.
The Congress President also highlighted the various key points that will be included in the final manifesto of the Telangana Congress, such as a farm loan waiver of Rs 2 lakh, an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 and an assured Rs 7000 minimum support price for cotton farmers.