BJP Rishtedar Samithi

Khammam: Blowing the poll bugle for the party’s election campaign in Telangana, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called upon the rank and file to strictly follow the Karnataka formula, stay united and continue the tempo generated by CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka’s 1250-km padayatra.

Addressing a mammoth public meeting here on Sunday, Rahul in his brief speech of about 25 minutes, appeared to be focused in telling the party cadres of the campaign line they need to adopt from now onwards. He launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao by describing the ruling BRS as 'BJP Rishtedar Samithi'. Gandhi alleged that the corruption charges against KCR and his party leaders have made them subservient to the BJP.

According to him, there was Rs 1 lakh crore corruption in the Kaleshwaram and Mission Kakatiya projects. He said a separate state was a dream of the poor, farmers and the youth as they wanted native jobs, water and resources to be utilised for their benefit and development of the state. But the TRS which later got converted into BRS had ruined their dreams and aspirations which had fuelled the agitation for separate state, he added.

He alleged that KCR thinks that he is the ‘King’ of Telangana and the state his ‘Jagir.’ He had taken away the land from the poor and tribals with the help of Dharani Portal. Rahul announced that once the Congress comes to power, it would give back the “usurped lands” back to the tribals and the poor.

He asserted that he had told all other Opposition leaders that the Congress would not join any bloc where the BRS was a member. He said when the Congress was fighting the Modi government on farmers bill, KCR and his BRS supported the Modi government as they are involved in the liquor scam. They are being remote controlled by Modi, the Congress leader added.

Rahul Gandhi said the Congress had recently fought the election in Karnataka against "a corrupt and anti-poor government and we defeated them with the support of the poor, OBCs, minorities and oppressed in the state." "Something similar is going to happen in Telangana. On one side, there would be rich and powerful of the state and the other, there would be poor, tribals, minorities, farmers and small shopkeepers, who are with us. What has happened in Karnataka, would be repeated in Telangana," he said.