A day after Union Minister Amit Shah said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would end minority reservations proposed in the state by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government – which he also called corrupt – the party helmed by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao hit back at Shah saying that he should be renamed Abadhala Badshah, "the king of lies".
Lunching an attack on the BJP and Shah, TRS working president K T Rama Rao, addressing a press conference on Sunday, 15 May, said that the home minister's promise that the Centre will procure paddy from farmers if they vote for the BJP was "unconstitutional".
“How can he promise paddy will be procured only if people vote for BJP. This is an unconstitutional threat. It won’t work with farmers of Telangana.”K T Rama Rao, TRS Working President
Playing Shah’s speech video clip at the press meet, KTR said that the home minister claimed the Centre gave Telangana RS 3,52,202 crore as support. Pointing out discrepancies between Shah’s statement and that of other BJP leaders in the state, he asked, “They are making claims without any basis. Whatever comes to their mouth they are spitting out,” he said.
Reacting to Shah's comment that the KCR-led government was "corrupt" and had failed to fulfil promises of water, funds, and jobs on which the state was created, the Telangana minister said that the BJP has not given even a single development project to Telangana which is of use to the people.
KTR added that people who are making mistakes in Karnataka should not teach governance to Telangana.
Alleging that contractors and even seers have accused the Karnataka government of demanding commissions or bribes, KTR said that the BJP has no right to point fingers at Telanagana.
He also disputed Shah's claim that the TRS has a link with the AIMIM and opposed the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the party in fact had supported the move. Without naming AIMIM and Asaduddin Owaisi can the Shah even say a word in Telangana, he asked.
"Only Political Tamasha"
Reacting to Shah, TRS Social Media Convener Krishan K told news agency ANI that "it was a mere political tamasha (drama)...blatant lies...as he returned without offering anything to the state".
Addressing a public meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday, 14 May, Shah had said that “The minority reservation based on religion affects the SC, ST, OBC reservation."
Claiming that the BJP will "face elections even if they are held tomorrow," the Union home minister said that if his party comes to power in Telangana, it will will "end minority reservations and increase SC, ST, and OBC reservations”.
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