Punjab Minister for local government, Navjot Singh Sidhu launched a scathing attack on the Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao describing him as a chameleon who changes his colours quickly and accused him of backstabbing Sonia Gandhi who granted Telangana.
At a press conference here, the cricketer-turned politician said for KCR, women empowerment meant only the empowerment of his daughter, K. Kavita.
“There is no woman minister and no women’s commission here. It is a strange thing that we see in India. In Punjab, Congress gave 50% tickets to women in local bodies and 50% municipal commissioners are women,” he said.
Attacking the ‘family rule’, Mr. Sidhu said Telangana witnessed a government not for the people but for the family.
“We heard of Alibaba and 40 chor, but here it was just four chor,” he said and asked when 75% of people in Telangana earn around ₹ 145 per day, how can KTR’s income increase by 400%. And this happens when the Chief Minister sits in a ₹ 300-crore building and this is nothing but disaster,” he claimed.
He said Punjab government took 70 years to reach the debt of ₹ 2 lakh crore while Telangana achieved it in just four years. This is shocking as the State had a surplus of ₹17,000 crore.
Mr. Sidhu related the Rafale deal and Kaleshwaram project saying both were same as the project costs were enhanced mindbogglingly. KCR enhanced the Pranahtia Chevella project cost from ₹40,000 crore to ₹80,000 crore and this was no less than the Rafael ‘scam’, he alleged.
On his previous praise of Telangana sand mining policy, he said the AP policy was much better.
“The sand is free and even the transportation cost is borne by the government”, he said.
Special category status
Meanwhile in Sangareddy, Congress senior leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh wondered why Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was silent when Special Category Status (SCS) was offered to residual Andhra Pradesh at the time of bifurcation of the State in 2014.
“During bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh leaders asked what happens to the newly-formed State if complete authority on Hyderabad was given to Telangana. After several discussions whether to divide it between the two States or make it a Union Territory, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had decided to give it to Telangana. In lieu of that, special category status was offered for five years to Andhra Pradesh. Why did Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao remain silent during the division of State and why is he raising his voice now?” asked Mr. Ramesh while speaking to reporters here on Friday.
Asked whether according SCS to Andhra Pradesh is possible as several Union Ministers were stating that it was not possible, Mr. Ramesh said that ‘it can be accorded within 24 hours if there was political will.’
