Hyderabad, May 29 (IANS) Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President N. Ramchander Rao on Friday accused the Congress government in the state of talking about Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NTR to attract the voters of the state in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections.

He asked the Congress why it did not install statues of N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) all these years.

The State BJP Chief was reacting to unveiling of a statue of NTR in Hyderabad by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday to mark his birth anniversary.

NTR, a popular actor-turned-politician, was the founder of TDP and served as the Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh in 1980s and 1990s.

Addressing a meeting at the state BJP office, Ramchander Rao said that the Congress has made it a habit to stage political dramas for votes ahead of every election.

He added that ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-election, Congress leaders remarked, “Congress means Muslim, Muslim means Congress”, to woo Muslim votes. Now, with the GHMC elections in mind, they’ve suddenly started talking about NTR to attract Andhra voters.”

“I am asking the Congress party: Why haven’t they installed NTR garu’s statue all these years? Why haven’t they honoured his legacy? Congress has no moral right to talk about NTR garu. Nor does it have the qualification to claim his legacy as their own,” he said.

The BJP leader recalled that it was NTR who first gave the call for a Congress-free India.

“Today, the BJP is working steadfastly in that direction,” he said.

Ramchander Rao also criticised the Congress for removing Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

“Rahul Gandhi speaks about OBCs wherever you look, be it in Parliament or outside. But the reality is that the Congress has even removed its only OBC Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah). Among the four Chief Ministers the Congress party has in the country today, not a single one belongs to the OBC category,” the BJP leader said.

He criticised the Congress government in the state over procurement of paddy and other foodgrains from farmers.

He alleged that due to the absence of even basic facilities in grain procurement centres, unavailability of lorries, and shortage of tarpaulins, farmers are facing severe hardships.

He claimed that it was only because of the BJP’s campaign that the state government, which was in deep slumber, was finally forced to respond.

Ramchander Rao said that over the past 12 years, the Narendra Modi-led Central government has allocated nearly Rs 13 lakh crore for the development of Telangana.

“The revival of the Ramagundam Fertiliser Plant, the Warangal Coach Factory, the Mulugu Sammakka-Sarakka Central Tribal University, AIIMS Bibinagar, the expansion of National Highways, the Hyderabad Regional Ring Road, Metro expansion, and Multi-Modal Transport System services — all of these were made possible solely through the initiative of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.

Alleging that the people of Telangana are fed up with both the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Congress, Ramchander Rao claimed that they are eagerly awaiting with hope to give a chance to the BJP.

“The Congress has turned into a commissions party. Only the BJP is a party committed to good governance and development. The BJP is a party built upon the ideals of service, sacrifice, and selfless devotion to the motherland,” he said.

–IANS

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