Giving the credit of success of a separate Telangana State movement to the sacrifices and sufferings of ordinary party workers, Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Friday said that the next goal before him was to realise the dream of "Golden Telangana" over the next four years.
After he was unanimously elected as TRS president for the 8th consecutive term, Chandrashekar Rao addressed the party's plenary session at Hyderabad lal Bahadur Stadium laying the road map for the party delegates for the overall development of the State and the strengthening of the organisation.
61-year-old KCR, as Chandrashekar Rao is popularly known among his followers and supporters, recalled the struggle for Telangana State after he launched TRS on April 7, 2001 and revived the dormant movement for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
There was an air of celebration at the TRS plenary as it was the first conference of the party after the dream of separate Telangana State was finally realised on June 2, 2014.
"Those who are now claiming the credit for the development of Hyderabad city should be ashamed", KCR said taking a dig at his bête noire Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu. He held Andhra rulers including Naidu for the backwardness and exploitation of Telangana for over more than five decades.
Chandrababu Naidu, while addressing a meeting of TDP workers in Mahabubnagar on Thursday said that if Telangana was today financially sound, it was because of the work he had done as the Chief Minister in the past.
KCR said that ensuring uninterrupted power supply during the current summer season was one of the biggest achievements of his Government so far. "It will take an investment of RS91,500 crore to increase the power generation capacity by another 24,000 MW and we will do it", KCR said announcing that foundation stone of one more power plant in the region will be laid within ten days.
The State Government has set a target of repairing and restoring 9,000 irrigation tanks under Mission Kakatiya and ensure drinking water supply to each and every household in the State under the water grid project, he added. "If we are not able to achieve these goals, we will not seek votes from the people next time", he said.
The sprawling venue of the plenary had turned into a sea of pink, the official colour of the ruling party as nearly 40,000 delegates of the party from all corners of Telangana converged to listen to their leaders discussing 12 different resolutions including one on the political situation.
State Home Minister and Returning Officer N Narasimha Reddy announced the unanimous election of KCR as the party president. He said that only one nomination was filed and KCR was elected unopposed.
Initially, there were speculations that party may opt for KCR's son and Minister for IT K Taraka Rama Rao as the working president. But, Rama Rao himself put an end to such speculations declaring, "KCR is a 61-year-old young boy, full of energy and he will rule the State for ten years".
KCR urged the party workers to ensure that the party fulfills each and every election promise made to the people. "It is your responsibility to bring to our notice if there are any loopholes in the implementation of our programmes and promises. It is your responsibility to achieve the dream of Golden Telangana", he said.
He listed numerous welfare measures launched by his Government including the distribution of land to Dalits and tribal families and financial assistance for the marriage of poor girls of all weaker sections including minorities.