No one can wipe out KCR from TS history, says BRS chief

Hyderabad: In what could be one of the most watched live interviews on television in recent times in Telangana, Leader of Opposition and BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao countered, point by point, what he called a malicious campaign against him by the ruling Congress, asserting that ‘KCR was the history of Telangana’ and that none could wipe that history out.

Stating that politics in Telangana was now revolving around ‘votes in the name of the God and abuses against KCR’, Chandrashekhar Rao said the Congress was indulging in baseless allegations due to its incompetence in governance.

Rather than focusing on delivering its promises for which people voted, the Congress had wasted five precious months in hurling abuses against him and blaming the previous BRS government.

Coming out with a point-by-point rebuttal to the allegations in an interview with Telugu news channel TV9, Chandrashekhar Rao highlighted the discrepancy in public perception between his tenure and the current Congress regime.

Farmers were left in the lurch as Congress leaders were indulging in political games due to their sheer inefficiency in addressing people’s problems. “People voted for the Congress due to the promises given to them. But today, they are extremely disappointed with the government,” he said, asking whether the people had voted for the Congress just to blame KCR.

Ridiculing attempts to malign his legacy, emphasising his role as a transformative force rather than merely a political figure, Chandrashekhar Rao cautioned against underestimating his impact on the State’s politics. “KCR is an institution, not a person.

Congress leaders are hurling abuses against me only out of frustration due to their inefficiency in fulfilling their promises. Did the Congress fade away after being in the opposition for last 10 years? When people desire it, there will be a change of the guard,” he said.

In the interview that saw him stating facts on multiple issues, right from Kaleshwaram to the State’s economy and the power sector, he also dubbed the Congress white papers as bogus.

He also questioned the double standards in public discourse, wherein his government faced criticism for increased liquor sales, while the soaring temperatures were being blamed for the same under the Congress administration.

Admitting to having initially agreed for a proposal to merge the TRS (now BRS) with the Congress after Telangana formation, he said he had backed out as the Congress rejected his requests to hold elections separately in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation.

He admitted to certain sarcastic or objectionable remarks during the heat of the Telangana movement, but said he as Chief Minister had ensured that people from Andhra Pradesh faced no problems in the State of Telangana. “People gave us power to give them good governance and to address their needs.

We acted responsibly and focused on the State’s growth, without blaming the past, abusing others or dividing people to hate each other,” he said, pointing out that after making numerous allegations, the Congress government was passing time by leaking news to select media outlets, rather than conducting a probe and providing concrete evidence against the alleged irregularities during the BRS regime.

On allegations on the State’s economic situation, the former Chief Minister denounced the Congress’s “misinformation campaign”, dubbing the allegations as baseless and arising from the lack of basic knowledge of economy.

He attributed the State’s debt burden to efforts to meet people’s aspirations, address historical inequalities and exigencies of governance.

He reminded that the country with largest economy and highest debts was the USA. The Congress government had presented a bogus white paper in the Assembly to mislead people and cover up its own inefficiency. “When Telangana was formed, it was in chaos.

We had to address the basic needs of people by providing them water, power and other amenities for which we obtained market borrowings within the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) limits set by the Centre.

On multiple occasions, union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that Telangana had highest capital expenditure for any State in the country.

The State is also ranked 24th in terms of debt to GSDP ratio,” he said, adding that the BRS government spent Rs.14 lakh crore in the last 10 years compared to Rs.4 lakh crore in the Telangana region of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh before 2014.

On the power sector, he said the Congress and BJP were perpetuating false narratives for political gain. The BRS government had ensured uninterrupted power supply within five months after State formation. Besides signing long-term power purchase agreements with Chhattisgarh, the previous BRS government took up construction of new power plants to cater to its future needs.

He appealed to the people to differentiate truth from falsity, urging them to reflect on the tangible improvements witnessed during his tenure.