Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on June 5, Wednesday said that the state wants friendly ties with whoever forms the government in Andhra Pradesh so that both the states can solve their problems amicably. Revanth said he would attend the swearing-in ceremony of N Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister, if he gets an invite. He also said that Congress was committed to granting Special Category status to Andhra Pradesh as laid down in the legislation passed by the Parliament.
Addressing the media, Revanth Reddy claimed that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) transferred its votes to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections. He slammed the BRS leadership for “selling their soul” to ensure BJP's victory.
He accused BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao of mortgaging the self-respect of BRS legislators with the BJP to protect the interests of his family. “BRS forfeited deposits in seven out of eight seats won by the BJP. For the first time since the formation of BRS, the party has no representation in the Parliament,” he said.
The Telangana Chief Minister pointed out that the BRS had polled 37.5% votes in the Assembly elections held in November 2023 but in Lok Sabha polls its vote share dropped to 16.5%. BJP had polled only 13% in Assembly polls but its vote share has gone up to 35.5% in Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Revanth Reddy alleged that BRS legislator from Siddipet– T Harish Rao– completely transferred his votes to the BJP. He said by transferring the votes to BJP’s Raghunandan Rao, the BRS helped in defeating the Congress candidate.
“BRS secured a majority in only three out of 119 Assembly segments. In the Siddipet segment, where the BRS had been securing a majority of 30,000 to 1.5 lakh votes since the party's formation, the BRS got a majority of only 2,500 votes.”
Revanth Reddy said Telangana's society and all democratic and secular forces should take note of how BRS helped BJP win the elections.
He expressed satisfaction over the performance of Congress party in Lok Sabha elections. The party increased its tally from three to eight.
Stating that the Lok Sabha elections were a referendum on Congress governance in the state, he claimed that people endorsed the government as reflected by increase in both seats and vote share.
He recalled that in Assembly elections, the Congress party had secured 39.5% votes and the party’s vote share in Lok Sabha polls increased to 41%. Claiming that people are happy with the Congress governance, he said they gave another Assembly seat to the party. The victory in by-election to Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat increased the Congress' tally to 65 in the Assembly.
He said that people have taught a lesson to BRS for making allegations against the Congress within 100 days of its governance and for hatching conspiracies against the government.
Revanth Reddy pointed out that BJP contested Lok Sabha elections in the country with the slogan of 'Modi guarantee' but its number of Lok Sabha seats came down from 303 to 243. "People have rejected the Modi guarantee. The warranty of Modi guarantee is over," he said.
Revanth Reddy also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should resign from the PM post, adding "he should not become the Prime Minister again as people have rejected him".