BJP Maha Dharna against Musi beautification project

Hyderabad: The Telangana BJP on Friday warned the State government that its demolition drive against the houses of the poor would turn the State into a battleground.

Addressing the day-long maha dharna organised by the BJP at Indira Park on Friday, Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Telangana BJP Chief G Kishan Reddy said, "We warn the State government that no police could stop the tide of the anguished poor." Further, the BJP cadre is all prepared to perform 'Kar Seva' if the government goes after the houses of the poor in the name of Musi Beatification, he said.

Criticising that the Congress government in the State has adopted dictatorial ways, he said that the BJP is organising the maha dharna to protest against the State government targeting the poor. He said that the BJP would touch every house in the Musi Riverfront areas and collect the details of the people and will intensify its agitation.

Urging the Congress-led government to withdraw its decision to demolish the houses of the poor, he said, continuing it would have serious consequences and that the BJP would stall every effort of the State government to demolish the houses of the poor at every step. He said that at a time when GHMC and metro water works were facing a financial crisis and Hyderabad was facing a lack of basic amenities.

The State government's decision to spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore on the Musi reactivation is nothing more than misleading people, he said. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar charged that about 50 years of rule of the Congress is responsible for the degradation of the Musi River. It was the Congress that had allowed the indiscriminate setting up of industries, resulting in the pollution of the Musi. He charged that 90 per cent of the residents in the Musi areas build their houses in the patta lands. He also pointed out that government officials are marking for demolition more areas in the high-demand areas in the name of FTL and buffer zone areas.

Malkajgiri MP Etala Rajender said that Congress is more interested in giving contracts to Congress MP Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law than building houses for the poor. BJP MPs, MLAs, and senior leaders from across the State took part in the dharna.