BJP govt biased towards Telangana, says TRS working president

TRS working president K T Rama Rao Friday accused the BJP government at the Centre of adopting a biased attitude towards Telangana in providing funds and extending various benefits and said the BJP would pay a price for it in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Rao claimed that Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had in the Parliament session replied in the negative to a query by TRS MP K Prabhakar Reddy whether the Centre would provide funds to the Mission Kakatiya (for revival of tanks)and Mission Bhagiradha (supplying piped drinking water) schemes in the state.

He said the TRS strongly condemns this attitude of the Centre which is because the BJP lacks presence in Telangana.

"On behalf of Telangana people, we express our strong protest against the attitude of the BJP and that of the Centre," he said.

The Centre has readily helped Maharashtra, where BJP is in power, with Rs 3,831 crore for irrigation this financial year in irrigation, Rao said.

"That means... the BJP is doing grave injustice to Telangana," he said.

BJP lost deposits in 103 out of the total 119 seats in the recent assembly elections because of its 'biased' attitude towards the state though Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NITI Ayog had also made a recommendation, he said.

"I humbly warn BJP friends on behalf of Telangana people. If you continue the same biased attitude, your deposits would be lost in all the 17 parliament seats,'' Rao said.

The NDA government has not responded to the request to grant national status to an irrigation project in the state, paying GST dues, setting up a steel factory in the state according to the AP Reorganisation Act and providing other Central funds, he claimed.

Also, the attitude of the BJP is undemocratic and that it would pay a price for it unless its leaders changed their ways, the TRS leader said.

"...it is unfortunate that they don't have the thought to support Telangana. In democracy, is he only the Prime Minister for the BJP, not for country. Prime Minister only for BJP-ruled states," he said.

Asked about Modi's reported comments in a media interview that he does not know about the federal front proposed by Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao, he said: "I don't know that Prime Minister ji said so".