State BJP MLAs Eatala Rajender, T. Raja Singh and M. Raghunandan Rao on Sunday said that they had sought Centre’s help to deal with floods which caused displacement of scores of people and largescale loss to agriculture and properties.
“We have requested the Centre to provide sufficient aid in view of the unprecedented floods. Central Ministers have been requested to visit Telangana to assess losses and provide necessary succour. A preliminary report on the prevailing situation has been shared with the Central government”, said Mr. Rajender at a press conference.
Flanked by his two colleague MLAs, he said the trio themselves will be touring the affected region and interact with the affected people directly once the floods recede in the next few days. The MLAs have also blasted the State government for “disrespecting” Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan by failing to follow the protocols during her visit to Bhadrachalam and other areas.
“The Governor was forced to go by train as she was denied a helicopter with the district SP and collector absenting from receiving her. It only shows that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekehar Rao does not heed to constitutional proprieties and exposes his arrogant attitude to the first citizen,” he charged.
Mr. Rajender accused KCR of spreading “lies and falsehoods” on the Centre’s devolution of funds and permission for loans. “There is blind hatred against the Narendra Modi government and he is deliberately spreading misinformation to cover up the TRS government’s own failures and inadequacies,” he claimed.
The FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) Act, devolution of funds and MNREGA - Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, rules are applicable uniformly across the States whether it is ruled by the BJP or other parties.
“Doesn’t KCR know this? Financial devolution of funds of the taxes collected is dependent on various factors including population, development and other aspects. The MNREGA has to go through social audit as it is meant for the poor and the government has to check to plug leaks to ensure the wages are directly put into the bank accounts of the labour,” he explained.
The State government has been building roads, crematoria, toilets, farmers help centres and so on with the material component of the MNREGA and “if you utilise the funds properly, there is scope for more funds to be released in the subsequent year and loans have not been denied or funds have not been cut,” said Mr. Rajender. State debt has ballooned to ₹5 lakh crore with ₹60,000 crore per annum interest to be paid or 1/3rd of the revenue has to go for repayment. “If this debt is not managed properly, there is a danger of going the Sri Lanka way,” he feared.
The MLAs flayed KCR for refusing to support the NDA presidential candidate and alleged that it only reflects his government’s negligent attitude towards tribal people. The manner in which the Forest Department and the police have been harassing the tribals in various parts of the State, when they were asserting their rights to cultivate their lands, is condemnable, they said.
The BJP leaders also urged State public representatives for a “vote of conscience” and support the NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu as it is first time a woman from the Scheduled Tribes community will be occupying the prime post. They also dismissed KCR’s “foreign conspiracy” on the cloudburst and floods as a figment of his imagination. Earlier, the MLAs discussed the voting pattern for the presidential election.
