Throw out TRS govt: Sonia

​Hyderabad: Seeking to turn the tables against the TRS, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday called upon the people of Telangana to ensure the victory of the People’s Front to realise their dreams. Sonia Gandhi asked each voter to use his power to throw out the TRS government and to teach a lesson to the rulers but did not name Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), which act was probably deliberate. “People of the state should support the Congress for the progress of Telangana,” she said. The UPA chairperson addressed a huge public meeting at Medchal on the outskirts of Hyderabad, appealing to people to teach a fitting lesson to the rulers. The meeting was also attended by AICC president Rahul Gandhi, alliance party leaders Prof M Kodandaram, L Ramana and Chada Venkat Reddy.

TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, leader of the Opposition in Assembly K Jana Reddy, LoP in Council Shabbir Ali, campaign committee chairman Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, TPCC working presidents Ponnam Prabhakar, Kusum Rao and A Revanth Reddy were also on the dais. Along with them, senior leaders S Jaipal Reddy, Renuka Choudhary, Madhu Yashki, RC Khuntia, K Venkat Reddy, Vijayashanti, Geetha Reddy, Sabita Reddy and DK Aruna also participated.

Sonia Gandhi recalled the days of creation of Telangana and explained the difficulties she had faced during that period. She expressed her deep anguish over the plight of farmers, women, youth and students in the newly created state. Opening her speech with greeting on the occasion of Karthika Pournami, the UPA chief said that she was happy to among the people of Telangana on the auspicious day. “While standing in midst of the people of Telangana, I got a feeling of a mother who saw her children after a long time,” she said. Sonia said the decision to create Telangana state was a difficult one and she had faced several hardships. 

Dividing the state was a difficult decision but she could finally take it. The desire of the people of Telangana for statehood dominated her mind. This apart, then prime minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi, who was an MP, had supported her taking the decision, she said, recalling UPA’s promise of special category status for AP at the time of the division of the state. Coming down heavily on the TRS government Sonia Gandhi said a mother wants to see that her kids prosper and get good name. But the present government had failed to deliver what people wanted from it. She wanted to know as to whether the dreams of the people of Telangana were realised or not. “The Telangana movement was taken up with a slogan of “Neellu, Nidhulu, Niyamakalu.” But none of them was achieved, she said.

Sonia Gandhi wanted to know whether the state got water and jobs. The farmers were deprived of irrigation facilities and have committed suicides. The state government was implementing a land acquisition Act different from the one the UPA had brought in the past to benefit farmers from whom land is acquired. She said the youth of Telangana were looking for jobs desperately and the labourers were deprived of benefits of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The women self-help groups were deprived of the benefits that should accrue to them. “Whenever I went to other states, I used to narrate the success of SHG women in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. However, the present government has turned it into a flop,” she said.

Sonia Gandhi questioned the TRS government what it has done for the SCs, STs and Backward Classes of the state and whether it brought any change in the lives of students, youth and women. She alleged that the TRS has ignored the welfare of the people and benefited family members of the Chief Minister. She said that those who did not stand by their word should not be trusted. Sonia Gandhi said the TRS government has left the new born state to its fate as a newly born child was left unattended. She said the ensuing election was a good opportunity to resolve the issues of the people, she added.

The UPA chairperson said the Congress manifesto contains the programmes which are meant to improve the lives of the people of Telangana. She said her party would ensure the wellbeing of all the sections of the society. In his address, Rahul Gandhi said the next election would be a historic opportunity. He said the people of the state had lot of dreams during the movement for separate statehood. He said Telangana has been formed with the blood and sweat of the people of the region. Sonia Gandhi has stood by the people of the state and ensured statehood.

Rahul said the Congress, Telugu Desam, Telangana Jana Samithi and the CPI have formed a front to defeat the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. The alliance echoes the voice of farmers, students and youth. The People's Front government would work for the wellbeing of various sections of the society, he added. He said that only one person has run the government in the state and took decisions at his whims. His decisions have only helped his family members. Rahul Gandhi said the People's Front government, after formation, would address the issues of farmers, and would provide dole to unemployed youth. It would take all the sections of the society with it.