Hyderabad: In a scathing attack on the ruling Congress government, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Monday, October 27, said that the grand old party is running a “joint” government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing a meeting with BRS minority leaders in Shamshabad, KTR criticised the Congress government for “deceiving minorities, failing to fulfil its promises, and aligning with the BJP”. He stated that under the previous BRS government, ex-chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had introduced the Shaadi Mubarak scheme in Telangana, providing Rs 1 lakh financial assistance for poor brides.
KTR said that Congress claimed it would offer more but that it failed to do so. “KCR increased the number of medical colleges from four to thirty-four and introduced ₹20 lakh scholarships for higher education abroad. We achieved a lot in ten years. No chief minister in India has done as much for minorities as KCR,” he said.
KCR’s meeting comes just days before the upcoming high stakes November 11 Jubilee Hills by election, wherein Muslim voters are believed to be a crucial factor in deciding the winner. Congress candidate Naveen Yadav will take on BRS nominee Maganti Sunitha, wife of the late BRS Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath who passed away earlier this year.
At Monday’s meeting, KTR stated that KCR’s leadership in Telangana, the previous government spent Rs 5,000 per person for their welfare and claimed it was the highest among all states. “KCR spent the most for minority welfare. Even Asaduddin Owaisi acknowledged this in other states, but not here,” KTR remarked interestingly. His comment comes at a time when the Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has shifted loyalties towards the Congress after it came to power in 2023.
The BRS leader also recalled that after the 2018 Telangana state elections, KCR made Mahmood Ali the deputy CM, giving “proper representation” to minorities. “But in this Congress government, there isn’t a single minority MLA or MLC. Even leaders like Shabbir Ali and Azharuddin have disappeared. They sidelined Azharuddin after promising him an MLC seat. In cricket, Azhar used to hit cut shots — here, Revanth Reddy has cut Azharuddin himself,” he stated.
However, it may be recalled that Azharuddin has now been nominated as an MLC by the current Congress government in Telangana. He had unsuccessfully contested as a candidate for the Jubilee Hills Assembly seat in the 2023 elections.
