Pro-BJP wave will help party return to power at Centre: Union Minister

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz on Monday expressed confidence that the BJP government would return to power at the Centre.

Addressing a media conference here on Monday, Hardeep Singh Puri described the elections as "historical." For the first time the BJP with about 11 crore members came before the people with a positive agenda presenting a report card of what the Centre had done in last five years and gave details of its accomplishments.

It implemented schemes like Swaccha Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Amruth Scheme, health coverage for the poor, electrification of every household and others.

He said normally any government in the power would anti-incumbency after five years in power. But this time the entire country is witnessing a pro-incumbency wave in favour of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.

The situation of Telangana State is also no different and more than development the regional parties are worried about their own interests and survival, he said.

The Union Minister said out of an assessed demand of 6.10 lakh housing units under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Centre had sanctioned about 2 lakh housing units to Telangana State. However, nothing has been done on this front by the State government since the scheme was rolled out in 2015.

Similarly, the State government was asked to return about Rs 1,090 crore to the Centre as it did not utilise the funds released to it for the construction of housing units to the poor under the Pradhana Mantri Grameen Awas Yojana (PMGAY).

Syed Shahnawaz said that earlier the BJP could not give the confidence of being an alternative to the TRS in the State during the State Assembly elections. But the situation has changed now, and BJP remained the only alternative for the TRS in the State.

Taking exception to the language being used by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao against Modi, he said the TRS chief has become more like the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Majlis chief Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother and MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi.