All arrangements put in place for Bharat Jodo Yatra in TS: Shabbir

Hyderabad: Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir said that elaborate arrangements were being made by the Congress party to make the Bharat Jodo Yatra of AICC Leader Rahul Gandhi a grand success in Telangana State.

He was addressing a preparatory meeting in Pitlam Mandal Centre on Sunday to discuss arrangements for Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kamareddy and Jukkal constituencies. The meeting was also attended by former minister Sudarshan Reddy, ex-MP Suresh Shetkar, Kamareddy DCC President Kailasa Srinivas Rao, Kasula Balraj, Gangaram, Manala Mohan Reddy, Kesavenu and other senior leaders including Mandal Presidents, ZPTCs, MPTCs and others.

After the meeting, the Congress leaders inspected the entire route from Pitlam to Deglur on the Maharashtra borders.

Speaking on the occasion, Shabbir Ali said that Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began on the 7th of September, would cover over 3,500 kilometres in 12 States and 2 union territories from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. He said Rahul Gandhi's yatra would enter Telangana on 23rd October and it would cover 69 kilometres in Kamareddy.

He said Rahul Gandhi, through Bharat Jodo Yatra, has been raising a voice against the politics of division, rising unemployment, and problems being faced by the farmers and other weaker sections.

The Congress leader said Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra was of huge significance for Telangana. He said it was Congress president Sonia Gandhi who turned the 60-year-old dream of Telangana into a reality. He said the Congress party gave a huge sacrifice by losing power in Andhra Pradesh and also in Telangana by bifurcating AP. However, Sonia Gandhi granted statehood to Telangana to stop youth from committing suicide and to undo the injustices done to the region in the past.

Shabbir Ali said Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao did not play any significant role in the formation of Telangana. "Despite being in power, TRS is unable to get the required funds from the BJP-led Central government. Imagine, what could a two-MP party (TRS) could've done in getting statehood for the region. It was only due to Sonia Gandhi Ji that Telangana got the statehood status," he said.

The Congress leader said Rahul Gandhi, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana, would highlight the failures of the TRS Govt. He said TRS did not fulfill any major electoral promise and turned a surplus Telangana into a debt-ridden State with over Rs. 5 lakh Crore of bad loans.

Shabbir Ali said KCR never remained loyal to Telangana or the activists who participated in the statehood movement. He said nearly 50% of the ministers in the KCR cabinet were traitors of the Telangana movement.

Similarly, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre has ruined the country's economy. Today, India ranks 107 among 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index. The rupee fell to its lowest against the Dollar at 82.32 due to the wrong economic policies of the Modi Govt. Strangely, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman is praising the fall by stating that she looks at it as 'not rupee sliding' but dollar 'strengthening'.

He said Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered its 39th day on Sunday, has received tremendous response in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. He expressed confidence that the Bharat Jodo Yatra would be a grand success on its entire route in Telangana State.