Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao said that the Congress was the number one enemy of Telangana.
Addressing the extended general body meeting of the students wing of TRS, Mr. Rao recalled how the Congress had ditched Telangana for a long time. Initially, the Congress merged Telangana with Andhra, and then tried to crush the slogan of separate Telangana during the agitation for Statehood. Now, the Congress has set up obstacles at every stage in the development of Telangana.
The Congress came down on every leader who tried to work for the development of Telangana. The party did not concede to Statehood out of mercy, rather due to fear. Mr. Rao said Telangana went through a lot of development in the three years since the formation of the State. He praised the role of students wing of TRS in the agitation for the State. The same spirit should be shown in the efforts to usher in the golden era of the State.
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Referring to Telangana ideologue K. Jayashanker, he said the former’s death had left a vacuum which could never be filled. He was like an encyclopaedia for any question.
The remarks of Mr. Rao that Congress should be pushed deep below, met with strong reaction from party senior leaders. Its Leader of Opposition K. Jana Reddy said the comments were meaningless and lacked value. Another senior leader T. Jeevan Reddy said time will tell who would be pushed down. The Congress had seen many leaders like Mr. Rao in its long history. He wondered about the position of Mr. Rao had the Congress not conceded to a separate Telangana.