NDA govt did not implement promises made to Telangana: K T Rama Rao

Taking strong exception to BJP president Amit Shah's attack on it, the ruling TRS in Telangana on Thursday said the NDA government did not implement the promises made to the state in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader and minister in the caretaker government K T Rama Rao wanted to know if the NDA government gave any funds to Telangana more than its due share of central devolution.

"BJP leaders are not in a position to say what Narendra Modi did, not only for our state, but for this country during the last four years," Rao, son of caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, told reporters at Vemulawada near Karimnagar.

Shah, who addressed a BJP campaign meeting for the December 7 Assembly polls at Karimnagar Wednesday, alleged that the ruling TRS did not implement a number of its promises. He also cited funds given by the NDA government to Telangana.

Referring to Shah's comments on allocation of funds, Rama Rao said he would like to remind the BJP president that "there is no Centre without the states."

Telangana has been growing at an average 17.17 per cent and is ahead of many other states, he claimed.

"The funds paid to Centre by Telangana is more than what the Centre gave to the state through devolution," he said.

"Prime Minister says in Parliament that KCR (Chandrasekhar Rao) is among chief ministers in the country who are doing well. He (Modi) says while Chandrababu Naidu was busy in petty disputes following (state) bifurcation, KCR focused on state's development with maturity," he said.

Modi, during a visit to Telangana, had appreciated chief minister Rao, he said. Union Ministers had also praised the TRS government, the minister said.

The NDA government did not accord national status to an irrigation project in Telangana though the state government made a request for it and the Centre did not provide funds though the NITI Ayog made a recommendation to give funds for two water-related schemes in the state, he claimed.

The NDA government did not implement the promises made to Telangana in the Reorganisation Act, including establishing steel factory at Bayyaram, an Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) in Hyderabad, railway coach factory at Kazipet and others, Rama Rao alleged.

On Shah's comments that the TRS government did not implement several promises, he said the coming elections are definitely a "referendum" on the TRS government.

BJP used the Ayodhya issue for its political gains by raising people's emotions and it did not build Ram temple, he charged.

"In this country, there may be parties who cheated people. But, yours is the only party which cheated god also," he said.

The TRS government in true secular spirit developed Hindu temples and also gave honorary salary to temple priests and Imams, Rama Rao said.

BJP is overestimating its strength in Telangana and TRS would like to see how many BJP candidates would retain their security deposits in the assembly polls, he added.