The creation of Telangana found an echo in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the way the new State was created.
In his reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address, the Prime Minister said Telangana was created with the Parliament doors closed, without any discussion and pepper sprays put to use. He blamed the Congress party for the way the Telangana bill was passed in the Parliament and compared it to the creation of three new States done by the NDA government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee. No such scenes were witnessed then, he said.
Mr. Modi reiterated that his party was not against the creation of Telangana, but the way a separate State was formed. He felt the emotions and the political decisions of the UPA government used to pass the Telangana bill continues to haunt both the newly formed Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States. Hinting at political motives for the creation of Telangana, he said the Congress still did not derive any political benefit despite fulfilling the aspirations of a separate Telangana.
While referring to Congress’ claim that India was a strong democracy because of the foundation laid by the party, he was sarcastic towards the Congress leadership of yesteryears, saying elected governments were dismissed at will. Even the Congress leaders heading the Congress governments in the States were not spared if they did not toe the line of the ‘family’, he said alleging that the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh T. Anjaiah was replaced only because the ‘Prime Minister’s son was not received well at the airport’.
He also referred to the efforts to replace the N.T. Rama Rao government in Andhra Pradesh. About 100 times President’s rule was imposed in various states by Congress negating the people’s will. Congress high command always believed in ‘discredit, destabilise and dismiss’ the governments that it doesn’t like. It was for the country to see the track record of the Congress party in strengthening democracy.
Congress calls for protests
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s speech, Telangana Congress president A. Revanth Reddy said Mr. Modi spewed venom against Telangana yet another time and called upon the Congress cadre for burning the effigies of the Prime Minister. He ridiculed the Prime Minister and asked why did the BJP government fail to give a separate Telangana when it created three new States. It only shows the BJP was never for a separate Telangana State. “When the Vajpayee government could create three States - Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand why did it ignore Telangana, which was a much older demand,” he asked.
Mr. Revanth Reddy also hit out at the TRS MPs for silently listening to the Prime Minister when he was spewing venom on Telangana in the Rajya Sabha. “Why were they silent and why is KCR silent,” he asked.
Meanwhile, the NSUI cadre held protests at the State BJP office in Hyderabad against the PM’s remarks on Telangana. The cadre led by NSUI State president Venkat Balmoori demanded an apology from the BJP for insulting the aspirations of the people of Telangana.
