HYDERABAD: As many as 26 opposition parties came together to fight against the Modi government but Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who calls himself secular has not attended even a single meeting, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged on Saturday.
Addressing a public meeting at Chevella near here, Kharge said KCR never spoke about the unity of secular parties to defeat the BJP.
”You call yourself a secular party here. But, you are in cahoots with BJP from inside there,” he said.
Today in Telangana, Congress President Shri @kharge released the #SCSTDeclaration, illuminating a path of empowerment and progress. pic.twitter.com/nKBP6iql6h
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2023
The AICC president said PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah (who is scheduled to address a BJP rally at Khammam in Telangana on Sunday) question Congress party’s contributions to the country.
Kharge then went on to highlight the Congress party’s contributions, including unification of princely states and making of the Constitution after Independence, irrigation projects initiated during Nehru era, nationalisation of banks and the promotion of computers during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister.
”Who gave IIT, who gave IIM, who gave AIIMS, who made ISRO, who made DRDO, who made HAL, who made ONGC, who made SAIL. We built so much of public sector,” he said.
The mention of ISRO comes as the country is celebrating the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Kharge released a poster of the Congress party’s ‘SC, ST Declaration’ – a set of 12 promises of the party – for the coming Assembly elections in Telangana.
‘When Congress comes to power in Telangana, the 12-point SC/ST declaration will be implemented,” the AICC president said.
According to the SC/ST Declaration, reservations for SCs will be increased to 18 per cent, while it will be hiked to 12 per cent in case of STs.
The party promised Rs 12 lakh financial help to SC and ST families in the state, besides special reservation in government procurements.
The Declaration also said reservations will be implemented for SC, STs in private educational institutions and in private companies availing incentives from the government. The announcement of the ‘SC, ST Declaration’ would help the Congress to counter the campaign of ruling BRS over its ‘Dalit Bandhu’ scheme (grant of Rs 10 lakh to a Dalit family to start a business or trade of their choice).
Legislative Assembly elections would be held in Telangana in just a few months from now. In a likely head start, CM KCR has recently announced 115 candidates of his BRS for the total 119 seats in the Assembly polls.
The schedule for the Assembly elections is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.
The Congress in Telangana had earlier announced ‘Farmers Declaration’ and a ‘Youth Declaration’.
Source: Press Trust of India
