Battle for Baldia begins with KTR, Kishan Reddy crossing swords

Hyderabad: The battle for Baldia has begun. It remains to be seen who will be the Bali (read as Bahubali) in the elections for GHMC. This indication of a bitter fight for the GHMC elections was clearly seen on Sunday when Minister for Municipal Administration KT Rama Rao and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy crossed swords with each other. While KTR lashed out at the Central government for not coming to the rescue of Telangana which suffered severe damages during recent heavy rains and floods while it had been very generous with Karnataka and Gujarat, Kishan Reddy said that the state government had deliberately not sent a detailed report on the crop loss and the loss on account of the rains despite centre seeking the information as it wanted to gain political advantage in GHMC polls by blaming the Centre.

Taking pot shots at BJP, KTR said while the TRS rank and file were reaching out to the rain-affected people in Hyderabad, the BJP was busy campaigning in Dubbaka politicising the rains and the havoc it left behind. While people were suffering it was the TRS rank and file which stood by the people, he said.

KTR said the government had so far handed over the flood relief cheques to about 4.3 lakh families in the affected areas. BJP has one Union minister and four MPs but they could not get any help from the Centre. Now they have come up with 'Mana Nagaram, Mana BJP' slogan with an eye on the GHMC elections. KTR said that it was a shame that the BJP has a helpless minister. KTR said that even before rains subsided, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced Rs 550 crore for flood-relief measures. The BJP activists were also among the beneficiaries who got Rs 10,000 per affected family. But still the party resorts to dharnas, he added.