BJP Launches Missed Call Campaign Ahead of Urban Civic Polls

Hyderabad: The BJP Telangana unit launched a missed call campaign titled ‘Save Telangana and Support BJP’ ahead of the municipal elections, alleging that 12 years of rule by the BRS and the Congress had pushed urban local bodies into financial distress due to corruption and poor governance.

Addressing a press conference, BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao said urban local bodies were burdened with debts exceeding Rs.3,600 crore, while the GHMC had accumulated an additional debt of Rs.5,000 crore. He alleged that weak infrastructure and deteriorating sanitation conditions had left cities and towns in a “state of darkness”.

At the press conference, Union coal minister G. Kishan Reddy alleged that the state government was functioning under the influence of Majlis leaders and accused it of raising revenue through land sales, liquor sales and increased borrowing. He claimed that over 50 per cent of street lights in Hyderabad were not functioning and that the state lacked the capacity to replace them.

Kishan Reddy also alleged that there had been no substantial progress in punishing those responsible for the phone-tapping cases, apart from the demotion of one police officer. He said retired employees were yet to receive retirement benefits and pending dearness allowances, while there was no clarity on the constitution of the Pay Revision Commission.

Ramchander Rao, making a presentation titled ‘12 Years of Erosion of Urban Telangana (BRS and INC Legacy)’, claimed that the ACB had caught around 1,500 officials and no effective action had been taken against them. He said corruption had made it difficult for citizens to obtain licences, permissions and no-objection certificates.

He alleged that the Congress had to power promising ‘Marpu’ (change) but had delivered ‘Mosam’ (deception) by imposing new taxes and breaking promises. Instead of addressing financial mismanagement, he claimed, the Congress government had added ₹80,000 crore of fresh debt within a year.

Ramchander Rao accused the Revanth Reddy government of pursuing appeasement politics which, he claimed, had led to increased attacks on Hindu temples. He alleged that crime against women had increased by five per cent since the Congress assumed power, totalling 2,945 rape cases, 441 murders and 1,122 kidnappings reported in 2025 as indicators of deteriorating law and order.

He alleged distress among working-class communities, citing suicides by 162 autorickshw drivers and 42 weavers. He claimed that hospitals were facing nearly 50 per cent doctor vacancies, the number of zero-enrolment schools had risen from 1,672 to 2,245, and 108 students had died in gurukuls and residential schools.

Ramchander Rao alleged that the BRS and Congress were working in tandem and claimed that a vote for either of them would benefit the other. He said unemployment had risen from 4.1 per cent to 5.2 per cent and accused the Congress of facilitating large-scale land and coal scams. He further alleged that, if re-elected, the Congress would extend HYDRAA to 123 municipalities, leading to demolition of houses belonging to the poor.