Will strive to set things right in the country, says Telangana CM Rao

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is trying to bring together like-minded parties against the alleged anti-people policies of the BJP and on development issues, on Wednesday said he would set the things right in the country.

"I am moving in the direction of influencing national politics. I submit that I would move forward to set right the country using all the abilities given to me by God even by shedding the last drop of my blood," he said while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the Mallanna Sagar reservoir in Siddipet district.

Rao, who launched a broadside against BJP and the NDA government at the Centre recently, said the country was going astray with what he called wicked and abominable things.

In an indirect reference to the 'hijab' (scarf) row in neighbouring Karnataka, he said some of his friends, including IAS officers, told him that their daughters, studying in Bengaluru, came home 20 days ago and were afraid of going back in view of the issue.

They expressed anguish that schools and institutions remained closed, he said.

Noting that Hyderabad is witnessing rapid development, including in the IT sector, he said the international airport in Hyderabad was moving ahead of Chennai and Kolkata airports. Up to 580 flights land everyday at the Hyderabad airport, he said.

The massive growth in Telangana should not be allowed to be hindered, he said.

For all States in the country to progress, the government at the Centre should be driven by 'dharma', he said.

Creating disturbances in the name of caste or religion and any law and order issues would have an adverse impact on growth and investment climate, Rao said.

"This is not good for the country. This a wicked policy. We should not tolerate it. That cancer should not be allowed to spread," he said.

As a person into politics, he would question what is not good for the people and not let it go unquestioned, he said.

Rao, who highlighted the development of Telangana in various sectors, said his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray, during their recent meeting in Mumbai, sought to implement some of the schemes being implemented by the TRS government in Telangana.

The Mallanna Sagar reservoir, a part of the TRS government's flagship Kaleswaram project, has a storage capacity of 50 TMC water, official sources said.

The Mallanna Sagar project would benefit about 20 lakh acres, Rao said.

He thanked all those who took part in the construction of the reservoir.

Recalling the effort behind the construction, he said as many as 58,000 workers had worked on the project at one time.

Amid the buzz about a third front, Rao on Sunday met his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray, who heads Shiv Sena, and NCP president Sharad Pawar separately as a part of the efforts to bring like-minded parties together against the BJP at the national-level.