BRS Leader Accuses Chief Minister of Misusing Independence Day Address for Petty Politics

HYDERABAD: BRS Deputy Floor Leader T Harish Rao on Saturday accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of using his Independence Day public meeting in Sangareddy to resort to personal attacks and make false claims instead of highlighting Telangana’s development and welfare. Addressing a press conference in Siddipet, Harish alleged that the chief minister had used the occasion for petty political rhetoric instead of remembering the sacrifices of leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru and discussing the state’s progress and future. Harish said the Congress manifesto contained 420 promises and took a dig at the timing of the chief minister’s Sangareddy speech, alleging that it began at 4.20 pm and comprised “420 words”. He said former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao used Independence Day addresses to highlight development, irrigation and power, while Revanth had failed to present any meaningful account of development. He alleged that the government had allowed the Singur reservoir, which supplies drinking water to Medak, Sangareddy and Kamareddy districts, to be depleted, resulting in several areas receiving drinking water only once in two or three days. Referring to ration cards, he said that the government had itself stated in the Assembly that the BRS government had issued 6,47,479 ration cards benefiting around 20 lakh people, contradicting the claims being made by the chief minister at public meetings. He said the Congress government had earlier imposed a ceiling of 20 kg of rice per family, whereas the BRS government removed the ceiling and provided six kilograms of rice per person, irrespective of family size.