Accusing Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of not celebrating September 17 as Liberation Day for fear of Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah declared that his party would organise it in Telangana, if voted to power in the coming Assembly elections.
Kicking off election campaign at Mahabubnagar town, 100 km from Hyderabad, on Saturday, he said the TRS could not talk of Telangana people’s ‘self-respect’ when it was scared of celebrating September 17 as Liberation Day. “If the country got Independence on August 15, you people of Telangana got liberated of atrocities by Razakars on September 17,” he said.
Stating that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao announced 12% reservations to Muslims under the influence of Mr Owaisi, the BJP president wondered how that was possible when reservations could not exceed 50%. If 12% reservations were to be given to Muslims, there was no other go for the government but to cut reservations of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he said. “Should these 12% reservations be given?” he asked the crowds and the latter screamed “no”.
Ridiculing KCR for ‘early polls’, he wondered how the caretaker CM could win in November or December if he was not confident of fighting polls in May of 2019. “I ask KCR why early polls .... should not we seek accounts for additional expenditure for advancing elections?” Recalling that KCR had promised to make a Dalit CM in 2014, Mr. Shah dared him to declare if he would fulfil the promise at least now. “Or will you make your son CM?”
Taking a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the BJP present said the former was day-dreaming of coming to power in Telangana. “Just see his past political campaigns. All of them are miserable failures,” he said. He said that before BJP came to power at the Centre, Telangana used to get allocations of ₹16,000 crore. Now, the figures reached ₹1.16 lakh crore. This was in addition to an equal amount under different projects and schemes, he said.
BJP State president Laxman announced a slew of promises from writing off farmers’ loans to giving interim relief to employees. Though the first election meeting of the BJP, it turned out to be a well-attended one, giving the much- needed momentum for its workers and leaders.
Earlier, in the day, Mr. Shah was accorded a warm welcome by State leaders on arrival at the Begumpet airport in a special flight. He drove to the State party headquarters where he addressed a press conference and later, on his way to Mahabubnagar for the public meeting, visited the Lal Darwaza temple in Old City.
