Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao questioned Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his visit to Hyderabad, asking why he was enjoying himself at the expense of the Telangana exchequer while failing to address the promises, declarations and guarantees made by the state Congress during the 2023 Assembly elections.
In a post on social media platform X, KTR said, “Lies, damned lies and then there is the Congress election manifesto ‘Abhaya Hastam’.”
“Mr Rahul Gandhi, since you are in Hyderabad enjoying yourself at the expense of the Telangana exchequer, why don’t you answer simple questions about the 420 promises, 13 declarations and 6 guarantees?” he said.
Rama Rao listed several promises made by the Congress during the 2023 Assembly elections and questioned the progress made on them.
He said the Congress had issued a BC declaration and promised a budget allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore for Backward Classes (BCs), but had delivered less than Rs 5,000 crore in three years. The party had also promised 42 per cent reservation for BCs in education, employment and government contracts, but had delivered none, he alleged.
Similarly, the Congress had issued an SC and ST declaration promising a new scheme, Ambedkar Abhaya Hastam, with Rs 12 lakh for poor SC and ST families. It had also promised to reserve 31 per cent of government contracts for SC and ST communities, but had delivered on neither commitment, KTR said.
He added that the youth declaration had promised two lakh jobs within 365 days and the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme, but the government had provided only 10,000 jobs and failed to implement the scheme.
The student declaration had promised a Rs 5 lakh Vidya Bharosa card, while the minority declaration had promised a budget allocation of Rs 4,000 crore. Both commitments remained unfulfilled, he alleged. The government had allocated less than Rs 1,000 crore for minorities, he added.
KTR said the list was endless, accusing the Congress of betraying the people of Telangana.
Meanwhile, BRS senior leader and former minister T Harish Rao also questioned the Congress government’s record in a post on X.
“Indiramma and Rajiv Gandhi were among the Congress party’s tallest leaders and former Prime Ministers. Their names command respect and deserve to be honoured through meaningful public service, not attached to schemes whose promises remain unfulfilled,” he said.
True respect for these leaders lay not in naming schemes after them, but in fulfilling the commitments made in their names, he added.
Harish Rao said Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Hyderabad was an opportunity to review the Revanth Reddy government's performance across its three Budgets and seek accountability for the promises made in the Congress manifesto.
“These are not mere Budget announcements; they are commitments made to the people through the Congress Manifesto. Why have they not been fulfilled?” he asked.
He accused the state government of following a three-Budget formula of “announce, recycle and never deliver”.
“Instead of implementing its promises, the government keeps repackaging old announcements and projecting them as new achievements. Meanwhile, poor families, landless agricultural labourers and unemployed youth continue to wait for the benefits they were promised,” he said.
Harish Rao also cited schemes such as Indiramma Atmiya Bharosa and Rajiv Yuva Vikasam, alleging that the government had repeated announcements across three Budgets without delivering on its commitments.
He questioned how a party that claimed to champion the interests of the poor and the youth could justify failing to fulfil its manifesto promises.
“How long must landless agricultural labourers and unemployed young people wait for promises that Congress repeatedly made to secure their votes?” he asked.
Addressing Rahul Gandhi, Harish Rao said it was time to move beyond speeches and political slogans, review the government's three Budgets and demand an account of every unfulfilled manifesto promise.
“The people of Telangana deserve governance, not gimmicks; delivery, not deception; and accountability, not another round of recycled promises,” he said.