Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday alleged that he is resorting to polarisation to hide his failures and divert public attention from real issues.
Rao also announced that he will come up with an alternative agenda for the country.
Making the concluding remarks at the day-long plenary of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), he warned the Prime Minister that he would not be allowed to continue his games to gain political mileage by spreading hate among people.
Amid cheers by 3,000 delegates, KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said he would work as a soldier to set a new agenda for the nation
The TRS leader dared Modi to show one sector where some progress was made during the last eight years of his rule.
“Nothing has happened. The GDP has crashed, the economy is not doing well, inflation has gone up, and the prices are rising. There are only failures but to show that something is happening, there are speeches and lies,” he said.
He said the people were being polarised to divert attention from real issues and the hate was being spread to take political mileage.
KCR slammed Modi for asking states to slash taxes on fuel when it is his government which increased the taxes. “One should at least have some shame. How can you ask states to reduce. Is this how a Prime Minister should speak,” he asked.
He said after the formation of Telangana, the state government has not increased the taxes on fuel except rounding off the price once. “If you really love people, why did you increase the cess on fuel. With what face are you asking states to cut taxes,” he asked and alleged that Modi wants a “strong Centre and weak states”.
The TRS chief said an alternative people’s agenda will be unveiled after taking consultations with economists, intellectuals and retired All India Service officers.
Responding to appeals by TRS leaders to play an active role in national politics to bring a change in the country, he said that in coming days, an appropriate decision will be taken on what should be the role of the TRS.
KCR said a detailed analysis will be done of the national politics, the working of the system, the resources the country has and how the country should march ahead.
“All the aspects will be analysed and discussed for 15-20 days by economic experts from the country and abroad. I will also invite intellectuals. Some will be coming from Harvard University,” he said.
The TRS leader said a meeting of 200 retired All India Service officers will be held in Hyderabad to help identify the key issues that need to be addressed.
KCR told the delegates that before taking up any task, he wants to do a detailed analysis and come out with a plan after going into all the aspects. Reiterating that India needs to come out of the routine political system, he said there is a need for bringing structural changes and framing the right policies to ensure that the country progresses to its full potential.
“The country has water but farmers don’t get water. It has electricity but rulers are unable to supply it to people. Basic needs like drinking water, electricity, education and health are not being taken care of which shows there are big loopholes in our thinking, policy making and implementation,” he said.
KCR listed out the tremendous progress Telangana has made in all sectors. “We can dream and we can also make those dreams come true. Telangana has shown this,” he said.
Stating that India has all the natural and human resources, KCR said if the country works hard with determination it can emerge as a bigger economic power than the US.
He also hinted that the TRS, with assets of Rs 1,000 crore, has no dearth of financial resources to play its role in national politics and claimed that some people have already come forward to make donations.
“We have 60 lakh disciplined workers who can contribute anything from Rs 10 to Rs 1 crore. If I give a call that we are going to influence the national politics, they all will come forward. If everyone gives Rs 1,000, we can have Rs 600 crore,” he said.
KCR exuded confidence that the TRS will win the Assembly elections for a third consecutive term. “We will win again with a huge majority. No one should be in doubt. At the same time, we should not be arrogant. To analyse some technical issues, we hired consultancies. Their surveys also show we will win 90-odd seats (in 119 member Assembly),” he said in an obvious reference to the deal signed by the party with Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) founded by election strategist Prashant Kishor.
KCR again cautioned people that communal disharmony will have disastrous consequences for the country. He warned them against falling into the trap of those spreading hate. “It takes a lot of time for construction but destruction can happen quickly.”
He slammed the outfits which say Hindus are in danger. “The President is Hindu, the Prime Minister is Hindu, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is a Hindu. Almost all the Chief Ministers are Hindus. How can Hindus be in danger,” he asked.
