TRS Turned Hyderabad into ‘Flood City’, People Want to Elect a BJP Mayor in GHMC Polls: Javadekar

Exuding confidence of BJP’s win in the elections to the city civic body, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Sunday the result of Dubbak assembly bypoll where the saffron party beat the ruling TRS will be repeated. Speaking after releasing a “charge sheet” against the TRS ruling the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), he alleged it failed to fulfill its poll promises and also accused the party government led by K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana of indulging in corruption.

TRS made a promise to make Hyderabad a Global City but it has been made into a flood city, he said, in an apparent reference to one of the worst deluges the state capital faced in recent times last month following unprecedented rains. In the GHMC polls to be held on December 1, the fight was for who will be the city’s Mayor, the senior BJP leader and the Information and Broadcasting Minister told reporters here.

The question is whether an MIMs Mayor is needed or BJP’s Mayor is needed. The elections are being contested on this question. Because a vote to KCR (as the Telangana Chief Minister is popularly known) means vote to the MIM,” he claimed. “Vote to Congress means vote to the MIM and vote to MIM means for division. And hence this time the people here have decided that a Mayor should be from BJP, he said.

According to him what happened in Dubbak, where the BJP upset the TRS, is going to be repeated in Hyderabad also. The results of Dubbak has showed which way the wind was blowing in Telangana. “The same wind is blowing in Hyderabad also”, he claimed adding We are fighting for (BJPs) victory.

He described the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) as ‘dynastic’ parties. It is KCR and KT Rama Rao (KCRs son and state Minister) in TRS and Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi (Asaduddin’s brother and MLA) in AIMIM. We have seen in the last six years these parties indulged in loot, Javadekar alleged.

He claimed that there was only one specialty in Telangana and it is corruption. There is debt on state and assets in KCR’s name. The assets of KCR and his friends are growing while assets of state are declining and its debts are growing. And because of this BJP brought out a charge sheet highlighting the 60 failures of TRS which has run away from keeping its promises, he said.

The TRS government did not keep its promises of providing one lakh government jobs, making one lakh 2 bedroom, hall and kitchen houses, the senior BJP leader charged. He alleged corruption and irregularities in disbursal of Rs 10,000 financial assistance which was announced as immediate relief to each flood-affected household in Hyderabad and claimed only a few people got the money.

Javadekar accused the TRS government of not implementing central schemes, including the PMJAY health insurance scheme under which COVID-19 treatment is covered, in the state. COVID-19 treatment was not covered under Telanganas ‘Aarogyasri’ health scheme due to which those affected by the coronavirus had to spend lakhs of rupees for treatment, he claimed.

TRS ruled with MIM (in GHMC) and now say they don’t have alliance with the latter. But the two will become friends soon after election results, he said. Responding to a query, the Union Minister said BJP was in power in 100 corporations in the country and there have been no riots there and that was the party’s specialty.

The BJP has compassion for all sections of society and hence we will present an Hyderabad which is riot-free, corruption-free and MIM-free with development,” he said. Javadekar refuted KCR’s recent statement that the Centre was privatising PSUs, including the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), saying we have not done disinvestment in LIC and Railways. The days of giving false information and misguiding people are over.

People want KCR to speak on Hyderabad’s issues and not LIC and other matters. They want reply on what had been done in the past five years in the city, he said. On the TRS supremo’s statement that he would soon convene a conclave of opposition leaders to launch a united fight against the BJP-led NDA, Javadekar sought to downplay it, saying he (KCR) had made similar attempts (before 2019 general elections) but did not get any response.

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