‘Cong betrayed people of AP’
As the ongoing session of Parliament is witnessing fireworks over creation of Telangana, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi directly blamed AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi for betraying the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing a well attended crowd at Davangere in central Karnataka on Tuesday Modi did not leave any opportunity to lambast the Congress and also giving a new direction to his party’s stand on Telangana.
He said, “The two Congress leaders toured south India a few days ago but had no time to say a few words of solace to the people of Andhra who strengthened the Congress party and brought it to power. They have even disowned their own party parliamentarians from this State.”
To the cheering crowd Modi, surrounded by former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa (who has shared the dais with Modi after his re-entry to the BJP), said the political heat was rising steadily in the country in view of the upcoming lok Sabha polls and time had come to root out the Congress party from Indian politics.
“Do not leave even a trace of this party that has heaped misery on the people. They are dividing the people of the same State like Andhra. When they were so near (touring Kerala and Karnataka), why they did not go to Hyderabad,” he added.
Modi went on to directly accuse Gandhis of the plight of Andhra. He said, “The two leaders have hurt the people of entire Andhra physically and emotionally. They need treatment urgently. But did Ms and Mr Gandhi react even onceIJ They have no time to assure them. Is this the way to treat people who support youIJ The Congress has become ruthless against people who stood by the party. The two leaders have become blind to the peoples’ woes due to their political arrogance.”
He took serious exception to a Congress lok Sabha member using pepper spray in Parliament when session was on. He said, “Where have we landed nowIJ Earlier, the Congress was pulling the wool over people’s eyes over its false claims of achievements, now it is throwing chilli powder into other’s eyes. The episode was the lowest ebb I had seen in the parliamentary history of the country.”
Modi said due to wrong economic policies of the Congress-led Government at the Centre, the country’s economy had taken a deep hit. He asked why the Union Government banned export of cotton and pushed the cotton farmer into distress. While the Government was allowing huge imports of palm oil from abroad, it was not giving enough thought to increase production of cotton seed oil and coconut oil that can bring down the edible oil imports.
Modi took a dig at the recent visit of Rahul Gandhi to Karnataka when he spoke about women empowerment and nation development.“Democracy has four enemies - dynasty, casteism, communalism and opportunism - and Congress has them all.”Evoking Mahatma Gandhi in his address, Modi refers to the Gandhis as ‘Nakli (fake) Gandhi’. “When Mahatma Gandhi was around the Congress had an ideology.”
Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi’s approach to women empowerment, he says, “Congress lacks plan for women safety. But look at Delhi, it has become the rape capital.” Modi reacted sharply to Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the BJP was full of corrupt leaders and even a Chief Minister from Karnataka (BS Yeddyurappa) had to go to jail in a graft case. “Can this gentleman reply to people how many Congress leaders are in jail right now. Why a Congress Minister in Haryana was put in jail. Congress is the mother of corruption.”
Modi also took an indirect dig at Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, and said the leader was a ‘master’ in giving speeches and nothing else. The BJP leader strongly favoured linking of Indian rivers and said how 20 rivers linked in Gujarat had minimised people’s problems in the drought-hit State.
Modi has all the superlatives for Yeddyurappa who is expected to salvage the party in the State. Modi also appreciated Yeddyurappa’s farmer’s Budget introduced when he was the Chief Minister.
58 YEARS OF STRUGGlE FOR a separate STATE
September 1948: Princely State of Hyderabad, ruled by the Nizam dynasty, is merged into Indian Union after a military action called Operation Polo
1956: Erstwhile Hyderabad State is divided into three parts. Maharashtra-speaking areas merged with Maharashtra, Kannada-speaking areas go to Karnataka and Telugu-speaking region Telangana is merged with Andhra and Rayalaseema as Indian States reorganised on linguistic basis on recommendations of Fazal Ali Commission
Murmurs of protest starts in Telangana region as the people of the region don’t find any similarity between them and Seemandhra region
1969: The complaints and grievances of political and economic discrimination at the hands of Andhra-dominated Government burst into a violent protest as demand for separate Telangana State brings thousands on street. Government crushes the agitation, more than 300 students and youth die. State comes under President’s Rule
1971: Telangana Praja Samiti of Marri Channa Reddy wins majority of lok Sabha seats in Telangana region but merges itself with the Congress party headed by Indira Gandhi, who tries to placate Telangana people by offering some more concessions
2001: After remaining dormant for almost three decades, the demand for Telangana State comes to the fore again as movement is revived by K Chandrashekhar Rao. An astute and firebrand politician Rao quits the Telugu Desam Party and launches Telangana Rashtra Samiti building it in to a potent political force. Telangana issue dominates two successive general elections in Telangana - 2004 and 2009 forcing all the major political parties Congress, BJP and Telugu Desam Party to promise separate State
2009: The dramatic death of Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy in a helicopter crash changes the situation. Reddy had managed to keep the Telangana agitation under check. But soon after his death the issue came to the fore as KCR went on indefinite hunger strike in November 2009. Then Home Minister P Chidambaram announced launching of the process to form Telangana State to persuade a critical KCR to end his hunger strike
2010: The Centre sets up Srikrishna Committee to go in to the demand for Telangana States. But the Committee rejects the demand on various grounds including the fear that Maoist rebels will find a foothold in the smaller State
2013: But it took another four years of agitation and strike, resignations and electoral defeats to force the Congress party to walk the talk. July last year Congress Working Committee and Union Cabinet decided to start the process of formation of Telangana State. It sparked off a counter agitation in Seemandhra region against Telangana State, as Seemandhra people feared a separate Telangana will hurt their economic interests. The Centre sent a draft Bill to Andhra Pradesh legislative Assembly for its opinion
2014: Andhra Pradesh Assembly, dominated by Seemandhra members, rejected the Bill by voice votes as Telangana members supported it. The Centre nevertheless went ahead with the legislation. Amid noisy protests, stalling of the proceedings and use of pepper spray by Seemandhra MPs, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde introduced the AP State Reorganisation Bill in lok Sabha on February 13. The Bill was passed by lok Sabha by voice votes on February 18. After many turns and twists the main Opposition BJP also support the Bill
Telangana State will comprise 10 districts including State capital Hyderabad. Residuary State of Andhra Pradesh will comprise 13 districts. Hyderabad will serve as a joint capital of two States for 10 years