Sonia promises Rs 40,000 crore for Telangana, calls KCR ‘selfish'
Hyderabad: Though she has been subdued in her criticism of her chief rival the TRS so far, on Sunday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, for the first time, launched a no-holds-barred attack on TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, saying he was not even in Parliament when the AP Reorganisation Bill was tabled and that his championing of the separate state was for personal gain.
Speaking at an election meeting at Andhole, Mrs Gandhi said, “When the historic AP Reorganisation Bill was tabled in Parliament, he (Mr Rao) was not even present on Parliament premises, though he has been claiming credit for the creation of Telangana.”
She said Mr Rao is not ethical and is using Telangana for his personal benefit.
Sonia vows Rs 40,000 crore for Telangana
At an election meeting in Chevella, 40 km from here, on Sunday evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi emphasised two main points: that the creation of the new state of Telangana was due to the Congress party alone, and that only her party can ensure the development of the new state and social justice for its people.
She said Rs 40,000 crore would be pumped in for developmental projects in the Telangana region. Construction of the Outer Ring Road and Shamshabad International Airport are contributions already made towards this objective.
“We will soon develop Vikarabad as a new satellite township, we will declare Pranahita-Chevella and Palamur Lift Irrigation schemes as national projects and make Telangana more developed and prosperous,” she promised.
Mrs Gandhi reiterated that the Congress is committed to setting up the 4000 MW thermal power station in Telangana, which will be the biggest in the country.
Referring to Hyderabad being the joint capital of the two states for 10 years, she said, “Hyderabad belongs to Telangana and its revenue goes to Telangana development only. We will also declare a 10-year tax holiday for industries that come up in the region.”
She did not waste time lambasting the main opposition party in the region, the TRS, but merely said that it is “opportunistic” and “interested in selfish politics.”
“We have granted Telangana state after realising the martyrdom of several hundreds of people who have sacrificed their valuable lives for the sake of a separate state. We faced several difficulties from different quarters, yet we took a bold decision. Some parties, like the BJP, TD and YSRC even tried to stall passage of the bill,” she said. She hastened to add that the real heroes in the process of creating the new state are the people of Telangana. "Please understand our commitment to Telangana and support the Congress in the coming elections," she appealed.
Sonia says no to Army helicopter
Congress president Sonia Gandhi immediately came down from the helicopter after it developed a snag at Chevella and asked her security to take the land route to reach Andhole. Though security officials informed her that an Army helicopter had been kept as standby, Mrs Gandhi refused to utilise it stating she would not use government-owned vehicles which is against EC guidelines.
The police administration immediately readied the convoy and took her to Andhole via the Shankerpally, Ordinance Factory within about 90 minutes. After the Andhole meeting, she drove down to Shamshabad airport to catch an aircraft back to New Delhi.
