Union Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said it was his BJP's aim to come to power in Telangana in 2019 and asked party workers to work hard to achieve this goal.
Addressing a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party's polling booth-level workers in Bhongir parliamentary constituency, he exhorted them to start preparations now to ensure party's victory.
He described the meeting as the beginning of party's victory and exuded confidence that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will be defeated.
He alleged the TRS forgot Telangana after coming to power and was following the agenda of MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen).
This was the first in a series of constituency-level meetings planned by BJP by inviting top central leaders to gear up the organization for next elections.
BJP President Amit Shah was scheduled to address the first such meeting in Hyderabad on Friday but had to postpone the visit due to National Democratic Alliance coordination committee meeting in New Delhi.
Javadekar targeted TRS for its move to increase the reservations for Muslims. Stating that BJP is against reservations based on religion, he said there was no provision in Constitution for such a quota.
Claiming that BJP is not against Muslims, he said in fact in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, Muslims voted for BJP.
Javadekar slammed TRS government for not celebrating Hyderabad Liberation Day on September 17 officially.
"When Maharashtra and Karnataka can celebrate the day officially, why not Telangana," he asked, recalling that it was on this day in 1948 that then Hyderabad State became part of Indian Union, following the military operation against Nizam.
The BJP leader said BJP played a key role in formation of Telangana state and would cooperate in the state's development but at the same time it would oppose the TRS government's "anti-people" policies.
The minister said the BJP-led government at the Centre was working with the slogan of "sab ka saath, sab ka vikas" and treating all states equally, irrespective of the parties in power.
He claimed that under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the country was progressing at a rapid pace.
BJP's Telangana unit chief K. Laxman said BJP was the only alternative for TRS.
--IANS
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